


This boy is my destiny

by orphan_account



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: (because at the end of the day I always include sex), Challenge: A.U.gust, Cute, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kissing Booths, M/M, Pining, Road Trips, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-12 22:33:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4497258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Its like 3am and I’m exhausted and I can hear you raging next door about failing at putting an IKEA bed together so here I am helping you put it together and holy shit you’re cute </p><p>“friends-to-lovers-fake!relationship” fic </p><p>“I had to be your fake boyfriend/girlfriend because some creep was hitting on you and it was making you uncomfortable and now I have busted knuckles and a cut lip but hey are u okay” au </p><p>Met at a charity kissing booth au</p><p>Road trip au</p><p>(Please check out my post on Tumblr for the sources or tell me how to add links here)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So this was supposed to be a fluffy cute one shot for Belle, because I felt like it was long long overdue for me to dedicate something to her. And I wanted it to be something nice and fluffy, because she deserves all the love in the world and I was hoping it would make her smile :) Anyhow, it somehow turned into a multi-chapter. This is obviously still for Belle and I still hope it makes you smile :) <3
> 
> Special thanks to Sammy (mapofeighteen) and Pauline (gallavicher) who read over this about a hundred times and are lovely betas!!:) <33

“ _Fuck_!”

Ian’s head snapped up. A loud rumble followed the cursing. He narrowed his eyes at the wall opposite him. A second later he heard a thump followed by a low string of curses.

Ian picked up his phone. 1.30 am. Rubbing his eyes he sat up. He turned off the TV and stretched, groaning when his neck popped. He must have dozed off on the couch. 

As he looked down at himself he was glad to find that he had at least managed to change into something comfortable, sweatpants and an old, way too big t-shirt. He ran a hand through his hair, still a bit disoriented.

Another thump from the neighboring apartment reminded him of what had woken him up. He sighed, contemplated the idea for a moment before he got up, pocketed his keys, and left his apartment.

Two seconds later he was knocking at his neighbor’s door. He yawned loudly, too lazy to cover his mouth when the door opened to a very hot, very shirtless guy. Ian kind of froze mid-yawn, eyes wide.

The guy raised an eyebrow at him.

“Can I help you?” he asked, clearly annoyed.

Ian ran a hand over his mouth, cleared his throat awkwardly, and then started nodding.

“Yeah, yeah. I mean no,” he stammered as he switched to shaking his head. “Uh, I thought I might help you.”

The guy watched Ian, an amused smile playing on his lips. Ian sighed. Jesus, the guy was really handsome. He didn’t know what to settle his eyes on, the full lips, the hair that looked like fingers had run through it in frustration multiple times, or just the smooth skin of his torso.

“Why’d you think I need help?” the guy asked.

Ian’s eyes snapped back up.

“I live next door,” he explained, pointing his thumb over his shoulder, “and it sounded like you were having some trouble.”

The guy seemed to think for a moment before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more and Ian almost groaned at the sight.

“I suppose I could use some help, yeah,” he said and opened the door wider. He turned and Ian followed him inside.

“I’m trying to build this fucking IKEA bed, but it’s being a little bitch,” he explained as he led Ian through the apartment, but Ian was hardly listening.

He had found something to settle his eyes on and couldn’t look away. The guy’s sweatpants hung lowly on his hips revealing the cute little dimples on the small of his back, but most importantly, they sat perfectly snug around his ass, outlining its round perky shape. Ian had the strong urge to find out if his hand fit as nicely around it as he assumed. But he controlled himself as they reached the doorway to what he assumed was the guy’s bedroom. The guy turned around to him.

“You know anything about IKEA beds?” he asked.

Ian leaned forward to take a look at the mess of wooden boards in the room. Next to the door was a dresser and Ian took the instructions that were lying on top of it.

“Yeah, actually. I have pretty much the same bed,” he said.

The guy nodded and then led the way into his bedroom.

 

It took them about an hour to put the bed together and put fresh sheets on it. In that time Ian found out that the guy’s name was Mickey and he’d only moved in the day before. He told Ian a bit about his job at a bar and the university he went to, quite a fancy one. And Ian shared some of his own stories from his job as a waiter for an event agency. It was fun and Ian couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed that much or the last time he had been so smitten so quickly with someone.

Ian shed his own shirt at some point in the hopes of finding out if Mickey could be interested. But he didn’t catch any curious looks, so he put it back on when they were done.

Mickey led him into the small open kitchen just to the left of the bedroom.

“You want a beer?” he asked.

Ian leaned against the counter and watched as Mickey rummaged through the fridge.

“Yeah, thanks.”

Mickey nodded and handed him an open bottle. He opened his own and hopped up onto the counter next to Ian. They drank in silence for a while until Mickey broke the silence.

“You into baseball?” he asked.

Ian furrowed his brows, but shrugged and said yes.

“My friend canceled on me and I already got food and beer, so if you want to come over to watch the game tomorrow…” he trailed off, eyeing Ian cautiously.

Ian bit his lip and raised his bottle to his lips to cover his grin.

“Yeah, sure,” he said as casually as possible before taking a long gulp from his bottle. They were silent again after that, finishing off their beers. Mickey took Ian’s empty bottle from him and placed it with his own in an empty box by the balcony door. He turned back to Ian who had pushed away from the counter.

“I’m gonna go then, pretty late,” he said and Mickey nodded. “Hope you sleep well in that new bed.”

Mickey grinned and walked him to the door. “Thanks man. I really owe you one.”

Ian waved him off. “Don’t worry about it.”

Mickey smiled and waved once more before he closed the door and Ian made his way back to his apartment, smiling and giddy. There was no way he would find sleep that night.


	2. Thursday

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Ian yelled and fell back against the couch with a huff.

Mickey laughed triumphantly as he raced his Toad over the finish line. Ian rolled his eyes and chucked his controller at Mickey, but he dodged it.

“Come on, Gallagher. Don’t be a sore loser.”

Ian shook his head, arms crossed over his chest, but his lips twitched until they stretched into a grin.

“Fuck off,” he said.

Mickey was still laughing when he got up to get himself another beer and Ian a soda can. Ian watched him out of the corner of his eye.

It had been one and a half years since that night Ian helped Mickey build his bed. They’d watched the game the next day and after that they started hanging out on a pretty regular basis. Ian couldn’t quite remember how it happened, but he knew it had something to do with him just wanting to be around Mickey. It was a crush at first, but he gave up on that quickly. Mickey didn’t show any interest. But even though he sometimes still mourned what could have been, he liked hanging out with Mickey. They were friends. Best friends.

He smiled to himself as he turned his attention back to the TV to start a new game. It was nice having a best friend. The only people he had ever trusted enough to call them ‘best friends’ were his siblings. But he trusted Mickey and that was just a really good feeling.

Mickey sat back down next to him and handed him his soda. Ian thanked him and gestured to the TV with his controller. “Rematch?”

Mickey took a sip of his beer and shook his head. “Nah, gotta talk to you about something.”

Ian put the controller down and raised his eyebrows curiously. Mickey took another sip from his bottle before settling it with his hands in his lap, staring down at them.

“So, I came out to my family. You know, my mom and sister,” he started. Then he started rambling, “And it was all cool, but then Mandy got the idea into my mom’s head that you’re my boyfriend and some other stuff happened and now she wants us to come up there to Maine for some family gathering and a carnival and she wants to meet you and I know I still owe you one because of the bed, but I really kind of need you to come with me and pretend you are my boyfriend. I know it’s kind of a lot, but it’s really important and I could use some moral support there anyway.”

Mickey took a deep breath and finally looked up at Ian.

Ian blinked at him. His mouth was slack, his eyes wide open. He moved his mouth like a goldfish before shutting it and furrowing his brows.

“You came out?”

Mickey mirrored his expression.

“Yeah,” he said slowly.

“Like… as in… as gay?”

Mickey nodded again. When Ian nodded as well and looked away for a moment, Mickey relaxed a little. He watched Ian, his confused expression and the way he could almost see his brain working overtime. He realized that Ian had had no idea about his sexuality. His lips slowly stretched into a grin at that and a moment later he huffed out a laugh.

“What? You didn’t know?”

Ian turned back to look at him and threw his hands up.

“How would I?” he asked.

Mickey was laughing loudly now. “I thought you knew. You know, with the whole gaydar thing and what not.”

Ian shook his head, huffing out a laugh.

“No man,” he said a bit calmer and took a sip of his soda. “You gave me absolutely no clues.”

Mickey sighed. “Yeah well...”

Ian nodded. He didn’t know too much about Mickey’s family, especially the one he grew up with. It seemed to be a sensitive subject so Ian had never pressed him. All he knew was that Mickey had grown up with his father and siblings in the South Side of Chicago, not too far from where Ian had grown up himself. At fifteen, his mother had come back and got custody of the two children that were still underage, Mickey and his younger sister Mandy. Their mother had made a better life for herself in New York and took her children with her. Ian knew that Mickey’s father was an asshole and he assumed also abusive. His mom, though, was nice and Mickey loved her more than anything.

“So, what happened exactly?” Ian asked.

Mickey let out a long breath and his body relaxed a bit more with it. “I told my mom and Mandy the other day over Skype. And Mandy just said, ‘I knew Ian was your boyfriend’ –“

Ian snorted at Mickey’s impression of his sister, ignoring how his heart rate picked up a little at being called Mickey’s boyfriend. He knew it was stupid and he had been doing well with keeping his feelings suppressed since giving up on his crush, but now knowing that Mickey was gay caused the feelings to slowly bubble back up again.

“So of course my mom immediately got all excited,” Mickey continued, “’my son in love after everything’ and all that shit. Told me to invite you for the next family gathering and how nice she thinks you are. Based on the few short times she’s seen you and so on and on. I had no chance to contradict her.”

Ian nodded along with it, trying to keep his blush at bay.

“Then Mandy starts talking again.” Mickey rolled his eyes making Ian laugh. “She starts getting all suspicious, talks about how you probably forced me to come out and all that shit. So then my mom gets all protective, tells me I have to bring you so she can assess you herself and have a word with you if that’s true.”

Mickey took a sip of his beer and let out a long breath. “Long story short, please please please come with me, because one, they might come up here and kill you if you don’t and two, I won’t make it through that weekend without murder on my own.”

Ian laughed at him again and took a long gulp of his soda, making a mental pros and cons list. Well, the pros were pretty easy: the vacation house at the beach in Maine, pretending to be Mickey’s boyfriend and therefore having an excuse to be close to him. But that was also the one con, Ian thought. He would probably get his hopes up too high and imagine Mickey reciprocated his feelings and then be left even more heartbroken with no one to blame but himself. That was kind of his thing.

“Oh and we’re gonna have to help at the carnival. Don’t know what yet, though,” Mickey interrupted his thoughts.

Ian nodded. So they would work at the carnival. That could be fun. Ian looked over at Mickey and sighed. Mickey was his best friend and there was only one point on the con side of his list. A pretty big point, but he’d managed this long, for Mickey he could manage a little longer.

“Yeah sure, man,” he said casually and Mickey sighed in relief.

“Thanks man, seriously.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

\- ɕ -

“Okay,” Ian said as they got into the car.

He fastened his seatbelt and looked over to Mickey, who started driving.

“New York to Maine. That gives us about eight hours to drive if everything goes well. We should talk about how we’re gonna do this.”

Mickey snorted at Ian’s enthusiasm and shrugged. “What’s there to talk about? We act like a couple or whatever.”

Ian just looked at Mickey for a moment before turning his body more towards him.

“Mick, do you even know how to act like a couple?” he asked.

Mickey shot him a short glare and flipped him the bird. “Fuck off.”

Ian laughed and turned back to look out the windshield.

“Seriously though,” Ian said after a minute. “We should talk about some things so it seems natural. Do we hug? Hold hands? Casual touches?”

Ian’s eyes shifted to look at his hands. “Do we kiss?”

Mickey shrugged, not aware of Ian’s nervousness, and Ian didn’t understand how Mickey could be so nonchalant about this.

“Just do what you did with your exes and I’ll roll with it. We’re best friends, how hard can it be to pretend I like you a bit more?”

Ian nodded. Right. That was how. Unlike Ian, Mickey had no crush. He didn’t actually like his best friend ‘a bit more’. He had nothing to be nervous about.

“Fine,” he relented. “Is there anything I should know though? I mean, maybe about your family, life? Something you’d tell the boyfriend you introduce to your family?”

“Is there anything about you I should know?” Mickey snapped.

Ian knew he wasn’t mad, just trying to put up walls. He was aware that there was really only one subject in Mickey’s life that he knew next to nothing about. And Mickey wasn’t very comfortable talking about his past, the family he lived with before he moved in with his mom. So Ian stayed calm and smiled.

“Mick, there is literally nothing you don’t know about me yet,” he said.

Mickey was quiet then. He shot Ian a look and received an encouraging smile. So he took a deep breath.

“You know I used to live with my dad,” Mickey started lowly.

Ian nodded, but didn’t say anything, not wanting to push Mickey or scare him off.

“Maybe I could tell you a bit about why and how it was,” Mickey continued.

He looked at Ian then, eyebrows raised a bit. He was waiting for confirmation, so Ian nodded and shot him another encouraging smile.

Mickey ran a hand over his face and nodded to himself. Ian assumed he was giving himself a bit of a pep talk.

“My dad was … he was an asshole,” he started. “He blamed us, me and my siblings, for our mom leaving.”

“When did she leave?” Ian asked before he could stop himself, but Mickey didn’t seem to mind.

“When I was eight,” Mickey said. “I hated her for a while, but some day Mandy showed me her letter. She had left it for us and Mandy had luckily found it before our dad could. She hadn’t been able to read much of it, so she waited until she could read to show me. It said that she’d come back one day, get us out.”

He took a shuddering breath and his nose twitched. He rubbed it and his jaw clenched. All his tale tell signs for suppressing tears.

“Sorry,” he said lowly. “I’ve never actually talked about this to anyone.”

“It’s okay, Mick. You don’t have to.”

Ian couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that Mickey thought he would be able to tell someone about this one day, but that Ian wouldn’t be that person. Not willingly. Then he felt guilty and chided himself for being so self-absorbed.

“It’s okay,” Mickey said, his voice sounding stronger again. “If I can’t tell you, who could I tell, right? You’re my best friend.”

Ian smiled and his heart warmed at that.

“I knew I was gay since … I don’t even remember. I guess I always knew. My dad’s extremely homophobic, fag bashing and all. And he dealt drugs, was an alcoholic. He was abusive. Those years we lived there were the worst of my life and I would probably still be a Narnia-style closeted, fag bashing, drug dealer. Or I’d be in jail.”

“You were scared,” Ian interrupted.

Mickey nodded, but didn’t say anything else about it.

“Mom’s letter kind of got us through, gave us something to hold on to, I guess. And when I was fifteen she was suddenly there with a lady from CPS. My dad put up a fight, but he had no chance. He threatened us, said he’d come after us, but nothing ever came of it. So we moved to New York with mom.”

“What did your mom do while she was away?”

“You know that.”

“Not the details though,” Ian retorted carefully.

Mickey nodded. “She went to college, got a degree in marketing. Then she met this kind of rich guy, married him. And when they split she got half of his money and the beach house.”

“No prenup?” Ian asked in surprise.

Mickey shook his head. “Nah, the guy was cool. He was only around for two years after Mandy and I moved in, but he was good. They split, yeah, but he took care of us nonetheless. I don’t think I’d have passed High School without him and I probably wouldn’t be at such a good university either.”

They were silent for a while. The atmosphere was a bit gloom, the story of Mickey’s past still fresh in their memories. Then Ian heard the faint sounds of a song he loved coming from the radio. He leaned over and turned up the sound a little. He kept his eyes on Mickey, gauging his reaction. He knew Ian loved the song, had heard him sing along to it often enough.

Mickey kept a neutral face for all of five seconds before a grin spread over his lips and he shook his head.

Ian took that as his cue. He turned it up even more, dancing ridiculously in his seat and singing along loudly, “She took my arm, I don't know how it happened. We took the floor and she said, Oh don't you dare look back. Just keep your eyes on me. I said, you’re holding back. She said, shut up and dance with me! This woman is my destiny. She said oh oh oh. Shut up and dance with me...”

\- ɕ -

They made a stop four hours later at a gas station. Ian got out first and immediately sprinted to the toilet as Mickey filled up the gas. When he was done he made his way to the shop where Ian caught up with him.

“You want to eat something?” Ian asked.

“Yeah,” Mickey said and they made their way through the aisles.

“So does your mom like me or not? I didn’t really get that,” Ian asked as he scanned over the chips.

“Honestly?” Mickey said next to him. “I don’t even know anymore. Mandy put a bunch of different ideas in her head. She’s into conspiracies for some reason and likes to make up her own for the most random situations.”

Ian laughed. “Great. Maybe we should stop in the next town and I could get some tattoos and a piercing, perfect my bad boy look.”

Mickey rolled his eyes and grabbed a bag of Cheetos. “Shut up. Mom and Mandy would never believe that I would date you if you had piercings.”

Ian grinned. “Let me tell you, Mick. I look hot with piercings. It’s a well-known fact.”

Mickey pushed him and grabbed a bag of Doritos for Ian. “Shut the fuck up. Even you would look shitty with piercings.”

Ian stopped, mock offended. “My God. How could you hurt me like that? I look hot in anything! Also, was that a half-assed compliment?”

Mickey laughed and punched Ian’s arm when he saw the smirk on his lips, as they made their way to the register. “You’re an idiot!”

Ian laughed along with him then and after paying for the chips, they made their way back to the car.

“Honestly though,” Ian said as they got in, him on the driver’s side now. “If she doesn’t like me, this is all for nothing.”

Mickey sighed and opened his bag of Cheetos. “Don’t worry about it, Gallagher. She’ll love you.”

“How do you know?”

“It’s not that hard to like you, how hard could it be to love you?”

Ian didn’t know if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult, so he just huffed out a laugh and shook his head, trying not to find some deeper meaning in the statement.

After a few minutes he turned to Mickey, searching for some distraction from the mess in his mind. But when he looked over, he found Mickey fast asleep, the only just opened bag of Cheetos between his legs. Ian sighed and smiled at the sight. This was going to be a long trip, he assumed, if he didn’t manage to shut off his brain soon.

\- ɕ -

The nerves got to Mickey when they parked the car in front of the beach house. The street was lined with big white beach houses just like the Milkovichs’s. Theirs had light green shutters, though, and a wraparound porch.

Ian smiled at the cliché it was as they got out of the car. He tried to imagine Mickey in it. The gruff guy with the knuckle tattoos and one of the dirtiest mouths Ian knew.

“Mickey!” a loud voice interrupted Ian’s thoughts.

A small woman with the same dark hair Mickey had rushed down the short boardwalk to the white gate. Mickey was already moving around the car and met her right outside the gate. The woman – Mickey’s mother Ian assumed – slung her arms around Mickey and hugged him tightly. Mickey reciprocated happily, a wide smile on his lips.

“Hey mom,” he said.

“Hey, my baby,” she cooed and Mickey rolled his eyes when they caught Ian’s. “I missed you so much.”

“Missed you too, ma.”

A young woman came strolling down the boardwalk then and wrapped Mickey into her own arms when he let his mother go. The dark hair and strong facial features seemed to be a family thing, Ian thought. Mandy looked just like her mother and brother.

“Missed ya, dickhead,” she said with a smile and punched Mickey’s arm when he let her go.

“Yeah yeah, you too,” Mickey replied with the same wide smile.

Ian closed the trunk, drawing the small family’s attention to him. He raised a hand accompanied with a shy smile. He was still pretty nervous, so he grabbed their luggage and carried it over to the others.

Mickey’s mother clasped her hands together and gave him a short once over.

“Ian,” she said. “It’s nice to finally really meet you and not just passing in the hallway.”

She laughed with him and Ian just put the luggage down when she already wrapped her arms around his shoulders, taking advantage of his lowered position.

“Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. … Milkovich?”

He wasn’t sure what exactly her last name was now.

She smiled as they pulled away, leaving her hands on his shoulders.

“It’s Dillard. My maiden name,” she explained. “But you can just call me Mary.”

Ian nodded. “Nice to meet you, Mary.”

She stepped back to let her daughter meet Ian.

“You must be Mandy,” he said and stretched out his hand.

She smirked at him and waited a beat before accepting his hand.

“You’re even more handsome in reality than over Skype. Can’t believe Mickey bagged you.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Mickey said as he grabbed his suitcase from Ian. Ian laughed and followed the three into the house.

“Why don’t you two get settled while Mandy and I prepare dinner,” Mary said as they entered the house. She pointed to the staircase. “We renovated last year and there is a bigger bed now.”

Mickey and Ian nodded and carried their luggage upstairs. As they entered the room, Mickey closed the door and turned to Ian, clasping his hands.

“Okay, maybe we should actually talk about some stuff.”

Ian turned around to him, tearing his eyes away from the direct view of the beach. He smiled when he saw how nervous Mickey was. He took him by the arm and sat him down on the bed before sitting down next to him.

“We’ll lie as little as possible, that makes it easier. The story of how we met can stay the same. If you want, we can say we only got together recently, so it’s not the biggest lie,” Ian suggested.

Mickey thought about that for a moment and he relaxed a little.

“You done this before?” he asked with a smirk.

Ian rolled his eyes but didn’t dignify him with an answer and just continued. “We don’t have to lie too much. We hang out all the time anyway, we just have to add the word ‘date’ to some things we’ve done together and talk affectionately about it. All the touching and stuff, try to let it come naturally.”

Mickey nodded to himself and slowly relaxed completely.

“Okay,” he said. “Can you take the lead?”

Ian smiled. “Of course.”

\- ɕ -

For dinner they had a barbecue in the garden behind the house. It was almost dark already. The pool was lit and there were oil torches leading to the terrace next to the pool and all around it.

Ian stopped himself from asking what they had a pool for when the sea was right there. He supposed that was just how it was around there.

Mary, Mandy, and Ian were sitting at the table on the terrace as Mickey fired up the barbecue.

“So Ian, what do you do?” Mary asked him.

Ian took a sip of his homemade lemonade before he answered a bit nervously, “I uh, I work as a waiter for an event agency.”

He didn’t expect them to judge him for not studying or having a better job, but it still made him nervous, knowing that both Mandy and Mickey were at pretty good universities.

“Oh that’s nice,” Mary said with a smile. Before she could say anything else, ease into the conversation, Mandy lost her patience.

“How did you guys meet?” she asked and had that smirk on her lips again. She was assessing Ian and everything he did or said.

Ian remembered that Mickey had told him Mandy was worried he’d pushed Mickey into coming out. He smiled at her and opened his mouth when he was interrupted.

“We met when I moved in. He helped me built the bed,” Mickey said.

Ian was surprised that Mickey took over, but he let him. They all turned to look at Mickey. He was still busy with the barbecue and Ian suspected it was easier for him to do it like this, without having to look at them.

“It was like two in the morning and he heard me struggling with it. So he came over to help.”

“At 2 am?” Mary asked a bit stunned.

Ian laughed. “Yeah, I had dozed off on the couch and his swearing woke me up. It was a Saturday and I didn’t have anything better to do anyway.”

Mickey looked over his shoulder for a second, shooting Ian a smile.

“It went from there, pretty much,” Mickey continued. “I invited him to watch the game the next day, because Lena – you know? From college? – She had canceled on me. I guess that was our first date.”

“So you’ve been dating for over a year already?” Mandy asked.

Ian smiled fondly at Mickey and then nodded. “Yeah.”

Mandy watched him for a moment before she rolled her eyes. “Ugh, you two are so cheesy, it’s gross.”

Mary slapped her arm. “Mandy! You should be happy your brother is happy.”

“I’m just kidding, mom,” Mandy said and laughed along with Mickey.

Mary shook her head and looked back to Ian. “I apologize for the two. I hope he doesn’t give you too much trouble, they tend to be crude.”

She said it with all the love she had for her children, a wide smile on her lips. Ian reciprocated the smile and shook his head. “Nah, he’s a real romantic when we’re alone actually.”

He grinned and winked at Mickey when he shot him an unimpressed glare. Mary and Mandy laughed at that, but Mickey ignored them.

“So,” Mandy said, propping her arm up and settling her chin on her palm. “What about your first kiss? How did that happen?”

“Uh,” Ian thought for a moment. “It was the next day when we watched the game actually.”

“Oh, you’re quick,” Mary interrupted with a laugh.

Ian smiled. He remembered that day well. Then he’d still had some hope concerning Mickey and even wore his favorite clothes. The grey Henley that emphasizes his muscles and the jeans that bring out the little bit of ass he has.

“Mickey was getting us beer and I felt brave. So I went into the kitchen and when he turned around from the fridge, I was there and kissed him.”

“Sounds creepy,” Mandy said.

Ian laughed. “Yeah I guess.”

Mickey turned a little again, shooting Ian a curious look. But Ian just grinned at him. He winked and Mickey nodded. Ian relaxed. He didn’t want Mickey to know that that had been his intention back then. He did walk up to him that day, just wanting to find out once and for all. Standing in front of him, though, he’d lost all his courage and simply asked for the bathroom.

“I think it’s cute,” Mary said and Mandy rolled her eyes at her, earning herself a soft shove. They laughed and got into a discussion about what was and wasn’t romantic so Ian took the chance to get up and walk over to stand next to Mickey.

“So that’s going well so far, huh?” he asked.

Mickey nodded. “Yeah, really good. If they annoy you, just tell them that you want to keep it private. Mandy’ll probably want to know everything about the first time we fucked.”

Ian choked a little on his drink and was glad for the excuse to take a breath, because he really didn’t need the image of fucking Mickey in his mind right then.

“Good to know,” he said with a laugh.

Mickey grinned at him, but then his face became serious as he looked at Ian for a moment. “That first kiss you talked about. That wasn’t your intention back then, right?”

Ian furrowed his brows, pretending to not immediately know what Mickey was talking about. Then he raised his eyebrows and laughed. “No, no, don’t worry. Just served the story.”

Mickey nodded and smiled easily at him. Ian took a sip of his drink and relaxed a little.

“So, Ian,” Mandy said then. “How was the first time you fucked?”

Mary gasped and slapped Mandy’s arm lightly.

“Mandy,” she said sternly, but a smile was playing on her lips. “That’s enough. How’s the food Mickey?”

Mickey grabbed a plate and put the first meat and sausages on it. “The first load is done.”

\- ɕ -

Ian lay on his back, an arm tucked under his head and the thin sheets covering his legs. Mickey was still changing into his sweatpants when Ian spoke.

“Your family is nice,” he said almost to himself.

Mickey huffed out a laugh and Ian turned to look at him. Bad idea, as Mickey just took off his shirt. Ian averted his eyes quickly.

“What?” he asked.

Mickey shrugged before pulling on his tank top.

“They can be pretty … evasive. No need to sugarcoat it,” he explained.

Ian scoffed. “You haven’t experienced evasive until you’ve met my family. Trust me. Your family is cool.”

Mickey laughed as he switched off the light. He crawled onto the bed and slipped under the sheets on his side. After a minute he asked lowly, “You’re cool with me being gay, right?”

Ian frowned. “Mick, I am gay myself in case you haven’t noticed.”

Mickey huffed out a laugh, but he still seemed a bit unsure. So Ian dropped the sarcasm.

“Of course I’m cool with it,” he said. “Just really really didn’t expect it, ‘s all.”

When Mickey laughed more confidently then, Ian couldn’t help but grin widely at him, or at least his direction. It was pitch-dark.

“Yeah, I remember how disappointed you looked when I didn’t check you out that first night. When you took off your shirt,” Mickey said, still laughing. Ian blushed hard at that and he had never been so grateful for absolute darkness. Stretching out his arm, he punched Mickey in the bicep and scoffed.

“Fuck off. I was thrown, not disappointed. People always check me out.”

Mickey laughed loudly at that. “Please, you would have totally banged me had I been interested.”

Ian snorted. “Oh don’t flatter yourself, Mick. I hadn’t gotten laid in months. I would have probably banged our old landlord at that point. Just proves how good you are at hiding it. My body is the bomb!”

The rustling of Mickey’s pillow had Ian assume that Mickey was shaking his head. Then he snorted, but he didn’t say anything else, so Ian settled down as well. Just when he thought Mickey might have fallen asleep, he broke the silence.

“Living in the closet for as long as I have teaches you how to be secretive.”

His voice was low and Ian didn’t know whether he expected Ian to still be awake or not. Either way, the sentence confused Ian a little. He rolled onto his side, facing Mickey’s back with wide eyes.

Did Mickey just confess to checking Ian out that first night? Did that mean he had liked what he had seen?

Ian squeezed his eyes shut instead of letting out the groan bubbling in his throat. He should have known that trip was a bad idea. That it would bring all these feelings back, make him get his hopes up.

He shifted again, turning away from Mickey. It took him at least an hour of letting his mind wander to all the places he had forbidden it to go for so many months until he finally fell asleep.


	3. Friday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case: TW mentions of (canon) Bipolar Disorder

Ian and Mickey stumbled down the stairs together, both still half asleep and only in their sweatpants. It was warm and they had shed their tank tops during the night.

Just like that first night they had met, the sight of Mickey topless, skin still pink from sleep, and his hair sticking in all directions, had Ian breathless for a moment.

When they stepped out onto the back porch, Mickey took his hand and slotted their fingers together before pulling him down to the small terrace where Mandy and Mary had already sat up breakfast.

“Look at you two,” Mary said with a sweet smile.

“Sooo ad _o_ rable,” Mandy cooed. “Even have to walk six feet holding hands.”

She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out when Mickey flipped her off.

Ian just grinned along and sat down next to Mickey. Mickey let go of his hand and Ian was tingling all over from the contact.

“Just ignore her, she’s jealous,” Mary said, her voice teasing.

Mandy gasped exaggeratedly, clasping her hands over her heart and staring at her mother like she had honestly betrayed her.

“Mother, how could you?” she squealed.

Mary smiled apologetically and took her hand in her own. “Oh don’t worry my lovely daughter, you will find your prince.”

Ian laughed at the little show and when he looked over he caught Mickey grinning at him. Ian blushed. He turned back to look at Mary and Mandy who were laughing as well. When they had all settled again, Mary sat up a bit straighter.

“Okay, let’s talk business,” she said. “The carnival.”

Everybody shifted as they waited for her to organize her planner.

Suddenly Ian felt Mickey’s warm hand on the back of his neck, his thumb running softly over his skin. He tensed. Then he relaxed into the touch. He chanced a glance at Mickey, but he was looking at his mother.

“We’ll have a meeting today, at…” Mary started and looked down at her planner, “noon. They will assign booths and tasks for the preparations there. Do you guys have preferences for booths?”

The boys shook their head.

“I want to do the shooting booth,” Mandy said and Mary wrote it down.

“We’ll see what we can do,” she said.

“Ian should do the kissing booth,” Mandy said with a mischievous grin. Her eyes flickered between the boys.

Ian felt Mickey’s grip on his neck tighten a little. He shot him a curious look, but Mickey was still not looking at him.

“And why’s that?” Mickey asked.

Mandy grinned. She sat her elbow on the table and propped her chin up with the palm of her hand. “Because it needs to be a handsome young fella.”

Mickey rolled his eyes and flipped her off. He wanted to say something, but Ian shrugged and spoke first.  
“Yeah, why not?” he said. “I don’t mind.”

Mickey raised his eyebrows and stared at Ian. “You serious?”

“Awww, Mickeyy,” Mandy sung laughingly, “are you jealooouus?”

Mickey sat up straighter. His hand slipped from Ian’s neck and settled low on his thigh. Ian swallowed. “Well, I’m sorry I don’t want my boyfriend kissing a trazillion strangers when I’m right there.”

Mary smiled at him. “Don’t worry, Mickey. We can probably put you in the cotton candy booth. That’s far away from the kissing booth, but you can still keep an eye on him if you want to.”

She laughed with Mandy and Ian shot Mickey a smile. He met his eyes and frowned.

Ian grinned cheekily then and leaned forward a bit. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll be thinking about you the entire time.” He spoke lowly, but loud enough for Mary and Mandy to hear.

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss to Mickey’s cheek before sitting back again.

Mickey snorted and shoved him a little. He leaned over to whisper in his ear. His hand pressed against Ian’s thigh, making his skin burn. “Don’t call me babe, you doofus.”

Ian laughed. “You don’t like it?”

Mickey just glared at him, but his lips twitched, when he leaned back into his seat.

\- ɕ -

After breakfast Ian excused himself and got up while the others stayed seated to chat some more. He felt Mickey’s hand squeeze his thigh before he let go. He wasn’t sure whether it was supposed to be comforting, because he knew where Ian was going, or just to keep up appearances.

Ian wasn’t really sure about anything Mickey did since they had arrived. The lingering touches, the fond looks, it was beyond confusing even though it should be clear. They were pretending. None of this was real. Yet Ian couldn’t wrap his head around how easy it seemed to be for Mickey.

Ian sighed as he made his way to the kitchen. He pushed all thoughts of Mickey aside to concentrate on the task at hand. He grabbed a glass to fill it with tap water and retrieved the pill dispenser from the pocket of his sweatpants. Turning to face the window behind the sink, he dropped his morning dosage onto his cupped palm.

He just stared at them for a moment. Sometimes he hated this more than other times; how these pills made him feel weak and dependent and out of control. He knew he needed them. He didn’t think about going off of them anymore. Sometimes he just needed a minute.

“What are those for?”

Ian jumped at the voice, only just managing to keep the pills in his hand. He turned around. Mary was standing by the entrance, leaning against the counter. Her expression was a mixture of concern and suspicion. It took Ian a minute to realize that she was waiting for an answer from him. He cleared his throat.

“It’s medication,” he said. “I uh, I have um … something called Bipolar Disorder. It’s -“

“I know what that is,” she interrupted him, but her voice was soft. She stepped closer, looking down at the pills in Ian’s hand and back up to his face.

“Does Mickey know?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Ian said and his lips twitched into a small smile. “Yeah, he knows.”

“He doesn’t mind?”

Ian furrowed his brows. He had told Mickey relatively early. After an evening out about a month after they had met, Mickey crashed at his place and saw him taking his meds. Ian explained it to Mickey and that was that. Mickey never made it awkward or anything, just asked every once in a while if he was okay and if he was taking his medicine. Ian knew he sometimes checked as well. He didn’t mind.

Mary answered his question before he could ask.

“It’s tough to deal with. I uh, I know that,” she said and Ian raised his eyebrows curiously.

“My sister,” she explained. “She’s not with us anymore, but I took care of her until the end a few years ago.”

“Did she…” Ian didn’t want to finish the sentence.

Mary looked up at him, confused for a second before she shook her head with wide eyes.

“No, no, no,” she said quickly. “No, she uh, it was an accident. Tripped and fell down the stairs.”

Ian nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “So, I know what it’s like a bit. But he’s good? Takes care of you?”

Ian smiled. “Yeah he –“

Just then Mickey walked in, a wary look in his eyes. He stood next to Ian and nodded at the pills. Ian smiled at him. He popped them into his mouth, washing them down with water. He turned back to Mary just as Mickey took his hand in a silent gesture of support through the jitters and the heavy talk with his mother.

“He helps a lot. He was there once when it was getting worse and I needed new meds. It was a hell ride,” Ian said and turned his head to look at Mickey, but he wasn’t looking back. “But he was there and that made it a bit easier.”

Mary smiled softly and she looked proud when her eyes found Mickey’s. She raised a hand to run her fingers through Mickey’s hair before she walked away, shooting them a last smile as she left the kitchen.

Mickey immediately let go of Ian’s hand and Ian ignored the small spark of disappointment in his heart.

“You didn’t have to tell her,” Mickey said lowly and Ian swore he saw a faint blush on his cheeks.

“She asked,” he said casually.

Mickey rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but it’s your personal stuff. I know we want this to be authentic and all, but I don’t want you to be uncomfortable and share stuff you don’t want to share. Also, now she thinks I’m some super-amazing boyfriend and all, I can never fuck up again. She’d disown me.”

He laughed and Ian joined in for a moment before he turned serious again.

“Maybe she would be right about that,” he said. “What I said was true. You were there for me. That happened. And if you care that much about your best friend, just imagine what you’d do for someone you love.”

It stung just a little, but Ian meant every single word. Mickey seemed stunned by those words and stayed quiet. He looked at Ian for a minute, absolutely still, before he nodded, smiled bashfully, and left the kitchen as well.

\- ɕ -

They all drove down to the small city hall in Mickey’s car. Mary and Mandy sat in the back and caught Mickey up on all the gossip he had missed. Ian didn’t know a single person they were talking about, but it was fun listening to the two chatting about the rich people of Maine. Mickey just kept rolling his eyes and now and then apologized for his family. Ian just laughed it off. As much as Mickey liked to pretend that he was embarrassed of his family, he still kept chiming in, asking about people and grumbling out comments.

“Mick,” Mandy called suddenly, “have you ever heard of Jess again?”

“Jess?” Mary asked.

Mickey stared at Mandy through the rearview mirror. His face turned bright pink. Ian saw Mandy smirking back at Mickey when Ian turned around to face her.

“Jess Holden? Billie’s kid?” Mary asked again.

Mandy nodded. “Yeah, I kind of put two and two together when Mickey came out, which, by the way, I totally called.”

Mary’s confused expression turned into one of understanding as she turned to her son. “Is that right, Mickey? You and Jess?”

Mickey’s eyes flickered to Ian, who was still looking back at the women, and then back at the street.

“That was only the first summer we spent here. Ages ago,” he grumbled.

“Uh-huh,” Mandy said with a smile. Then she shrugged. “Well, he’s going to be at the meeting.”

“Didn’t they sell their house up here and bought one in Miami?” Mickey asked.

Mary nodded. “Yes they did. But their business boomed in the past year and they bought the house back for this summer.”

Mandy’s eyes then found Ian’s. He figured out what they were talking about, of course. That was easy. But he couldn’t figure out who this Jess-guy was exactly and if he – as the fake-boyfriend of course – should be worried.

“Jess’s family is super rich,” Mandy said with that now familiar mischievous grin on her lips. “His dad’s company sells yachts to only the richest of the richest and they live in Orange County, but they have a house up here and one in Miami. And I think Jess’s mom, who is a famous real estate agent, also owns a farm in Texas.”

Mickey rolled his eyes and reached back to punch Mandy’s leg.

“Shut the fuck up, Mandy,” he said and then looked at Ian through the corner of his eye. “It’s not as impressive as it sounds and he’s really a douche.”

Ian sat back in his seat again and shot Mickey a small smile. “I’m not worried.”

And he wasn’t. Sure, Jess seemed to be pretty rich, but Ian knew Mickey. He knew Mickey didn’t care about that kind of stuff. It didn’t impress him. Nobody would mind having that much money, Ian supposed, but it wasn’t a factor for Mickey in choosing his partner. Also, he lived in California and Mickey said the guy was kind of a douche. So really, Ian wasn’t worried.

\- ɕ -

Ian met Jess soon after they entered the city hall. Everything was already set up, but the people were still standing around, mingling, and catching up. Mary immediately spotted some of her friends and pulled her children and Ian along with her.

“Mary,” a tall black man in a fancy grey suite greeted her friendly and took her hand to kiss it.

Ian smiled to himself at the cheesy gesture and shook the man’s hand when he introduced himself as Billie Holden.

“Ian Gallagher,” he said.

Before he could continue, Mandy chimed in. “He’s Mickey’s boyfriend.”

Mickey rolled his eyes, but he didn’t object.

Then a young man came forward. He was about Ian’s height, his skin lighter than his father’s. He had such deep eyes Ian didn’t know how you could not get lost in them. He was dressed in dark gray suit pants and a light blue dress shirt. He held out his hand to Ian with a friendly smile. “Jess Holden.”

Ian smiled back and shook his hand. “Ian Gallagher.”

“Haven’t heard that name around here before,” Jess said. “Did you just buy a house here?”

Ian huffed out a laugh. “Oh no. I’m here with Mickey.”

Jess raised his eyebrows and finally looked over at Mickey, who had been carefully watching the exchange. “Is that so?”

Mandy took over again. “Yup. He’s Mickey’s boyfriend.”

Then she stepped back and watched the three boys.

“Huh,” Jess said, obviously surprised. “So you came out?”

“Yeah,” Mickey said and looked away from Jess, clearly avoiding looking at him.

It took Jess a moment to get over whatever that revelation had caused in him. When he did, he smiled widely and squeezed Mickey’s shoulder.

“Well, good to see you again. ‘Has been a few years.”

Mickey nodded and slowly relaxed. “Yeah it has. Good to see you, too.”

Jess smiled happily. Then they were all told to sit down. Mary, Mandy, Mickey, and Ian sat in the middle and Jess made his way onto the stage to stand next to his father and a woman that Ian didn’t know to start the meeting.

\- ɕ - 

Ian did get the kissing booth, while Mickey was assigned to the cotton candy booth. Mandy had to give up the shooting range to some other kid and took over the haunted house. After that they were assigned different tasks for the preparations of the Carnival. They had staff for the hard things, obviously, but it was a tradition for the residents to help. So Ian and Mickey were assigned to painting some of the booths.

After that not much happened. They went back to the house and had lunch. Then Mandy, Mickey, and Ian launched around the pool for the rest of the day. In the evening Mandy approached them. She had taken a shower and told them to dress up to go out to a local bar. Ian hadn’t understood why they had to dress up until they reached the bar, fancy rich kids everywhere and Ian could only smile to himself.

They found a small table towards the back of the large room and sat down on the cushioned chairs. Ian wanted to feel out of place, but with Mandy and Mickey around he felt like he belonged, even in the midst of a bunch of millionaires.

“So Ian,” Mandy said as soon as Mickey was gone to get drinks. “Let’s cut the crap. Did you tell Mickey to come out?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but the mischievous glint in them was obvious. His first instinct was to laugh, but Ian stayed serious and shook his head. He wanted her to believe him. “No, I didn’t even know he planned on coming out until he told me two days ago that he had and that you and your mom wanted to meet me.”

Mandy kept her eyes narrowed at him a little longer, probably trying to figure out whether he was telling the truth.

“Fine,” she finally said with a smile.

“So Mandy,” Ian said with his own smirk now and she pushed at his arm. “Can I ask  _you_  a question?”

She nodded.

“Did we go to school together?”

Mandy was taken aback and her face darkened. “The fuck are you talking about?”

Ian shrugged, trying to keep it casual so she wouldn’t feel any more threatened than she already seemed to feel.

“I just thought, because we are around the same age and I’m from the Chicago South Side as well –“

“You’re South Side?” she asked disbelievingly.

Ian nodded and Mandy snorted. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. You’re one of those asshole-goody-two-shoes-arrogant-as-fuck Gallaghers?”

Ian laughed and shrugged, his expression a bit apologetic.

“You must’ve met some of my family then,” he said.

“Fucking hell,” Mandy breathed out, but she was smiling and shaking her head in disbelief. “Well I hope you’re less arrogant than your brother. That kid had some nerve.”  
“He wanted to get into your pants?” Ian asked knowingly.

Mandy snorted again. “Wanted, but no way. And your sister? The older one?”

“Fiona.”

“Yeah, good woman, but not as good as she thinks she is.”

Ian grinned and nodded along to Mandy’s mini analysis of his family.

“Can’t deny that. I love them, but they’re not perfect. Got a lot to do with protection and all that. I’m kinda glad I live on my own now, though.”

“Protection?”

Ian shrugged. “Protecting themselves, protecting the family. It’s more complicated than it seems.”

Mandy huffed. “No shit, whose family isn’t complicated?

Ian smiled and nodded in agreement.

“Even if it wasn’t for your family, South Side’s a shithole,” Mandy said.

“True. How is California then, huh?” Ian changed the subject.

“Berkeley,” Mandy said proudly. “Pretty damn awesome.”

Ian smiled. “You study Business right?”

“Yeah, but I’m thinking about switching to Architecture.”

Ian raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Architecture?”

“Yeah,” Mandy nodded and all of a sudden she seemed almost bashful. “A friend studies it and it’s really interesting. And I can draw and stuff, kind of.”

“Really?” Ian asked, sitting up a bit straighter. “Mickey never mentioned that. Sounds really awesome.”

“It is,” she said with a nod. “It –“ She stopped suddenly, her eyes fixed on something behind Ian. He furrowed his brows and turned around.

His eyes quickly found Mickey sitting on a stool at the bar. With him was Jess. They were standing rather close, probably so they could hear each other over the music and the loud chatter. Ian saw their drinks next to Mickey. He didn’t seem to have noticed yet. Mickey and Jess were talking, laughing, and Jess’s hand sat firmly on Mickey’s arm. They were very obviously flirting.

Ian watched them warily. He kept reminding himself that Mickey was single and could do whatever he wanted. Especially with a boy he had known for so long. But Mandy was there and he knew she had already been trying to make Ian jealous earlier that day. She was perceptive and wary of Ian. Not doing anything in that moment would have definitely made her suspicious.

Ian looked back to Mandy and saw that expectant look he had anticipated. He slowly made his way over to Mickey and Jess, trying to assess the situation better. All of a sudden Jess’s hand slipped from Mickey’s arm to his thigh and Ian saw Mickey tense up. He turned his head a bit. Their eyes met. That was all Ian needed and he strode over to them.

“Excuse me,” he said when he reached the two. He laid his arm around Mickey’s shoulders and raised his eyebrows at Jess.

Jess huffed out a laugh and let his hand travel further up Mickey’s thigh. He wavered a bit. He was drunk.

“Listen kid,” he slurred. “I was Mickey’s first, but he didn’t wanna be out then. Now that he is, I got dibs. So…”

He waved his hand around, signaling for Ian to leave them alone.

Ian glanced at Mickey, trying to figure out whether he wanted to stay with Jess or not.

Then Jess’s other hand fell and landed on Mickey’s other thigh. He ran them both up and down his legs and leaned in. Mickey looked slightly panicked and that was enough for Ian. He grabbed Jess by the collar and pushed him back.

“Do not touch him again, got it?” he growled. “He’s taken and he doesn’t fucking want you anymore.”

Jess frowned and tried to throw a punch, but missed tragically.

“You’re a poor bastard. Can’t give him what I can,” Jess said with a sneer.

Then he threw a punch again, this time catching Ian right in the face and hard. Ian pushed him back and landed his own punch. He got Jess’s nose, feeling it crunch underneath his knuckles. He pulled back and got him in the jaw. Jess stumbled a bit and Ian jabbed him in the stomach. Jess toppled over and fell to his knees. Ian was just about to go in to finish him off, when he was pulled back. Mandy was there laughing and Mickey was holding onto his arm, pulling him further and further away.

“Come on,” he said sternly and after a moment’s hesitation Ian followed.

The next thing he knew they were outside, laughing and running down the street to Mandy’s car. They got in and Mickey got into the back with Ian as Mandy drove them back to their house.

Mickey took Ian’s face in his hands to assess the damage. Ian grinned at him, eyes shining with the adrenaline that was still running through his veins.

“It’s nothing, Mick,” he said lowly.

Mickey raised a warning eyebrow at him, but Ian was right. It wasn’t much. His nose was bleeding, his eye swelling a bit. He ran his thumb over Ian’s lip, wiping a bit of blood from it. Ian watched him. Seeing Mickey so close to him he felt heat rise in his neck and cheeks. He pushed forward, but at the last moment he diverted and simply pecked Mickey’s cheek.

“All good, see?” he whispered when he pulled back.

Mickey stared at him for only a second before he nodded and sat back. His hands slipped away from Ian’s face. Ian looked to Mandy and saw her smiling at them through the rearview mirror.

\- ɕ -

When they arrived back at the beach house Mandy bid them good night and made her way to her own room upstairs. Mickey led Ian to the big bathroom downstairs.

He sat Ian down on the toilet and got a first aid kit out of one of the drawers under the sink.

Ian watched him as he moved around and got everything he needed out of the kit. He cleaned Ian’s face with a washcloth before he dapped some alcohol on the cut on his lip and by his eye.

His face was close to Ian’s when he cleaned him up and pushed a balled up piece of toilet paper into the nostril it was bleeding from. Ian couldn’t take his eyes off of him. He wasn’t seriously hurt, yet Mickey looked honestly concerned.

“Gimme your hand,” Mickey murmured as though he didn’t want to disturb the comfortable silence they were in.

Ian raised his hand and Mickey cleaned his knuckles and dabbed alcohol on them as well. Ian enjoyed the warmth of Mickey’s hand holding his.

Mickey looked up then and smiled when his eyes met Ian’s. Ian smiled back and for a moment he thought he should kiss Mickey. But Mickey moved away and let go of Ian’s hand. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub across from Ian.

“Thanks, man,” he said. “Not that I couldn’t have dealt with it myself, but I didn’t really want my mom to see that I got into a fight and –“

“It’s cool,” Ian said with a smile. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

Mickey looked up at Ian and chuckled. “Yeah, I guess.”

They were quiet for a moment. It was comfortable, but Ian didn’t really know what to make of it. Ever since they had arrived Mickey had been so affectionate, so close. They always take care of each other and help the other one out of uncomfortable situations. But Ian just couldn’t wrap his head around how causally Mickey played this game. How easily he could pretend to love Ian and how nonchalantly he touched him. How could Ian not get his hopes up?

He reprimanded himself. He should have known, should have never agreed to this. But the thought that maybe he had misinterpreted Mickey’s behavior toward him all along just wouldn’t leave his mind.

He shook the thought off for the time being and concentrated on another question he had been wondering about all day.

“So, who’s Jess exactly?”

Mickey groaned and huffed out a laugh. “Nobody.”

Ian cocked his head to the side. “Come on, Mickey.”

“Fine,” Mickey said with a sigh. “The first summer we came down here, he and I started hooking up. We did it again the next summer and the following. It was never anything serious, but he never liked the sneaking around. He wanted a proper summer fling or whatever and I think he wanted a proper relationship. Back then they still lived in Manhattan, so not far from where Mandy and I lived with our mom.”

Ian’s mouth opened in a silent ‘ah’. “That’s why he was so surprised that you had come out. That’s what he meant at the bar.”

Mickey nodded. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s cool,” Ian said with a shrug.

Mickey smiled gratefully at him.

“Bed?” Ian asked.

Mickey nodded and they made their way upstairs.


	4. Saturday

Chapter 4: Saturday (AO3)

Ian startled awake. He flinched and raised his hand to swat away whatever had landed on his face and woken him. He grabbed the offending item and felt warm flesh under his own. He froze, slowly turning his head to see what he was holding. It was Mickey’s hand. He must have lashed out in his sleep for some reason.

Ian slowly moved their hands and placed Mickey’s on the mattress between them. He watched him for a moment to make sure he wasn’t having a bad dream. Then he fell back onto his back and ran a hand over his face.

After taking a deep breath he moved away. His fingers brushed slightly over Mickey’s next to him. The soft touch made him blush. He shook his head, shook off the inappropriate feeling, and got up.

Ian made his way down the stairs to the kitchen, careful not to wake anyone. He poured himself a glass of orange juice and went to the living room to watch the sun rise above the ocean.

“Ian?”

He whipped around, startled for the second time that morning.

“Mandy,” he breathed in relief.

“What got you so scared? Got something to hide?” she asked with a smile as she walked towards him.

Ian huffed out a laugh. “Still don’t trust me?”

Mandy shrugged. “You gonna help me with breakfast?”

With a nod he followed her into the kitchen. They silently began cutting fruits and preparing the usual large breakfast Ian had fallen in love with that first morning he had spent with Mickey’s family.

Soon enough the cozy smell of fresh warm bread, sizzling bacon, and scrambled eggs filled the house. It mixed perfectly with the sweet scent of the pancakes.      

“I think I do trust you,” Mandy said suddenly as they started to plate all the food to bring it outside.

“You sure about that?” Ian asked teasingly.

Mandy just smiled warmly at him.

“Mickey does,” she said.

Ian nodded to himself and made his way to the garden, Mandy right behind him.

“He is not much for trusting others, huh?” Ian asked.

“I’m assuming that’s a rhetorical question?”

Ian didn’t answer as he set his plates down on the table on the opposite side of Mandy.

“Either way, no, he’s not a very trusting person. But he trusts you.”

“You sure about that?” Ian said again. His voice was more serious now.

Mandy sighed. “Come on, Ian. He’s been in a committed relationship with you for over a year, he introduced you to  _us.”_

Ian laughed a little at that.

“And,” Mandy continued, “I know my brother. He trusts you and he loves you.” Oblivious to the fact that Ian halted in his movements, Mandy went on. “The way he looks at you, touches you … I’ve never seen him like that. He’s open, happy, it’s weird.” She huffed out a laugh and looked up at Ian. “But good, really good.”

Ian let his thumb run over the edge of the fruit bowl for a moment after setting it down. He kept his eyes on it as he regarded Mandy. “You think so?”

Mandy shot him a funny look. He only saw it when he looked up, because she hadn’t answered. He shrugged.

“You think he’s happy? … Loves me and all that?” he elaborated, his eyes flitting over the table, hands balled up in the pockets of his sweatpants.

“Yeah, I really do,” Mandy said.

Ian huffed out a small laugh and shook his head a little. He just stood there for a moment before he felt Mandy slinging an arm around his.

“Come on, let’s finish up breakfast,” she said. “I’m hungry.”

Ian grinned and she pulled him along, back into the house to get the rest of the food and dishes for breakfast.

As soon as Mary and Mickey joined them, Ian tried not to analyze everything Mickey did. He watched him, though, because he couldn’t really help himself. But he avoided Mandy’s eyes. He ignored the happy looks she and Mary shot them whenever they touched or shared a glance. His shoulders were tense with confusion and need to see what Mandy claimed to see.

“You okay?” Mickey asked as they all made their way back inside. He wrapped his hand around Ian’s lower arm. Without meaning to, Ian relaxed. He looked at Mickey for a moment, noticed the small crease between his eyebrows. Then he shot Mickey a small, but honest, smile.

“Yeah, all good,” he said.

Mickey smiled back and nodded before continuing on his way inside, letting go of Ian’s arm in the process.

\- ɕ -

Soon after breakfast they got ready to go down to the beach a bit further south to help with the preparations for the Carnival. Jess was there and Ian immediately positioned himself a bit in front of Mickey. With a low snort Mickey pushed him to the side, but he stood close to Ian nonetheless.

When Jess saw them, he strode right over to them. He shot them a small smile before regarding Ian with a sigh.

“Listen dude. I’m sorry,” he said. “I was drunk. I’m usually not that … possessive, I guess.”

Ian eyed him for a moment, but Jess seemed honest. A little nudge from Mickey had him roll his eyes. “It’s cool. Just don’t let it happen again.”

Jess nodded and shook Ian’s hand to seal the deal.

He proceeded to assign them to the four booths they were supposed to paint. He showed them the supply car where they could find the pots of paint, brushes, and working gloves. Ian was ready to go to the first booth when Jess held Mickey back and nodded towards the booth he was working on.

Ian shot Mickey a questioning look, silently asking whether he was okay with being around Jess. Mickey nodded, so Ian did as well and left to already start on the first booth on his own.

As he was slowly painting the inner walls of the kissing booth in white and pink, Ian couldn’t help but glance over to where Mickey and Jess were having what looked like a rather friendly conversation. He could feel the familiar pressure in the pit of his stomach. He turned back to his task. He tried to concentrate on that instead of wondering whether Jess was important enough to Mickey for him to tell him that Ian was only his fake boyfriend. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of the competition.

He was done with the first wall when Mickey joined him.

“What’d he want?” Ian asked, not even pretending that he wasn’t interested.

“Why do you care?” Mickey asked back.

“Don’t,” Ian said with a shrug. “Just think I should know whether you told him or not, so I know to leave you alone when he’s around.”

“Heis moving back to New York.”

“Oh?” Ian asked his eyes fixed on the wall he was painting.

“Yeah,” Mickey said thoughtfully.

Ian smiled at him, because somewhere he actually was happy for his best friend. He would always be happy as long as Mickey was, even if all his instincts screamed,  _“fight!”_

“Tough shit I’m not interested in him,” Mickey said with a shrug.

“Why not?” Ian said surprised and turned around to face Mickey fully.

“’M just not.”

“Not in him specifically or anyone?” Ian asked, because he just couldn’t help himself.

Mickey turned to him with a funny grin.

“The fuck do you care?” he asked.

Ian rolled his eyes. “We’re friends, remember? And you just came out after one and a half years of not getting laid.”

He turned to Mickey and placed his hands on his shoulders. With all seriousness he could muster he said, “I want you to get laid Mickey. It’s time.” He nodded along with his last words.

Mickey stared at him for a moment, then his expression went blank and Ian just felt something wet hit his cheek. He flinched away with a grin before dipping his own brush into the pink color. He threw it at Mickey, hitting him in the crotch.

“Fucking hell, Gallagher,” Mickey groaned as he clutched his hands between his legs.

Ian laughed loudly, eyes wet and arms wrapped around his front, as he watched Mickey suffer. A moment later two wet hands slapped against his cheeks and ran up into his hair before trailing back down his face and neck. Ian looked up and saw Mickey grinning widely at him.

“How would you know whether I got laid since we’ve known each other?”

Ian scoffed and as Mickey already backed away slowly, he reached down for the pink paint again.

“Our walls are thin Mick,” Ian said suspenseful as he moved slowly closer to him. “I know you’ve heard me and while I’ve heard a lot of strange sounds coming from your apartment they were never sexual. And if I remember correctly, Jess’s family sold their hours here the year before we met.”

Mickey grinned in anticipation as Ian closed in on him.

“Fuck off, Gallagher,” he said lowly and just then Ian slapped his paint-covered hands against Mickey’s cheeks. He smeared the color all over Mickey’s cheeks and neck and down his chest. Then he stood back as though he was an artist, admiring his work.

Mickey scoffed. “How’d you know they weren’t sexual?”

Ian cocked his head and grimaced. “I’m really hoping you don’t regularly take dumps during sex, because that’s the only time you groan rather loudly. Then again, maybe you just have really bad sex, so my advice stands: You need to get laid.”

“Oh, you’re paying for this,” Mickey growled and grabbed the pot of white paint.

Ian backed away quickly, grabbing his own pot of paint. His color of choice was once again pink.

“You’re going down, Milkovich,” Ian said as they circled each other slowly like two lions ready for a fight.

Mickey shook his head, eyes never leaving Ian’s.

“You have no idea what you just signed up for, Gallagher,” he spat back.

Ian grinned for only a second before he pounced and Mickey was right there with him. They threw and poured paint all over each other, wrestling, and spreading the paint on their bodies and all over the booth.

Neither of them knew how long it took for someone to finally notice and tell Jess. He power walked towards their booth and grabbed Ian by the arm, pulling him back.

“The fuck do you think you’re doing?” he sneered at both of them.

Ian pulled his arm out of his grip and stood next to Mickey with trembling lips. Mickey looked no better with his matching expression, trying to keep in his laughter.

Jess propped his hands on his hips and raised his eyebrows. “So?”

Mickey ran a hand over his face and smeared the gathered paint on Ian’s overall.

“Sorry, man. We got a bit carried away,” he said.

Jess watched them for a moment as they kept trying to secretly smear paint on each other, bumping their hips, and pushing the other. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Listen. You’re done with this booth,” he said. “Please try not to ruin the other ones?”

Ian and Mickey nodded and waited for Jess to leave before gathering their things and quickly making their way to the next booth. 

\- ɕ -

Ian and Mickey didn’t fuck up the other booths and Mandy picked them up when they were all done to go down to the beach. It was a tradition, as Mandy explained to Ian. “All the ‘youngsters’, as mom likes to call us, go down to the beach to swim and stuff. And later, when it’s dark, there is a bonfire and music.”

“Sounds pretty cliché,” Ian said with a grin and earned himself a punch to the arm from Mandy.

“It’s fun, although,” she hesitated and looked from Ian to Mickey and back to Ian, “Jess’ll be there as well, of course.”

Ian shot Mickey a quick look before shrugging. “I’m not worried about him.”

“There’s no reason to be,” Mickey said.

“Okay then,” Mandy said with a smile and skipped down the wooden path in front of them. Mickey’s fingers slipped between Ian’s as they followed her to where all the other ‘youngsters’ were already getting ready for a swim.

\- ɕ -

Ian was tired from the work they had done at the Carnival, so when they were all set up on the beach and stripped down to their swimwear, he laid down on one of the beach chairs and dozed off.

When he woke up awhile later, he turned his head and his eyes found Mandy. She was standing close by the water talking to a girl Ian recognized from the meeting the previous day. He couldn’t remember her name though; it was something unusual. He looked away, searching for Mickey. He found him a few feet away sitting in the sand opposite Jess. Ian’s brows furrowed and he abruptly sat up. In his still sleepy haze he was ready to march over there. Then he reminded himself that he had no right to be jealous. Despite what they made everyone else believe, he was not Mickey’s boyfriend.

Ian took a deep breath and made his way over to Mandy. She spotted him and pulled him closer by the arm, introducing him to the girl she was talking to.

“Ian, this is Charisma,” Mandy said.

Ian nodded to the girl who flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder in what Ian thought was probably supposed to be sexy.

“Call me Carrie,” she said with a smile.

Mandy laughed next to him, before he could answer. “Please, Carrie. Ian’s Mickey’s boyfriend, don’t even try.”

Carrie’s earlier good posture slumped and she crossed her arms over her chest.  
“Of course he’s gay,” she mumbled to herself.

Ian smiled apologetically before he turned to Mandy. “So, how long have Mickey and Jess been talking?”

“Subtle, Ian,” Carrie chimed in.

Mandy huffed out a laugh.

“She’s right,” she said when Ian frowned at her. “I thought you weren’t worried about him?”

Ian shrugged. “Yeah well, maybe a little.”

Mandy looked over to her brother and his former fuck buddy for a moment before she turned back to Ian and Carrie. “An hour? After you passed out we went for a swim and then Jess was there when we came back. Since then, I guess. So yeah, about an hour.”

“They got a lot to talk about, huh?” Ian asked more to himself.

“It’s been a while,” Mandy said. “They were rather close back then. Jess is pretty cool, generally.”

Ian shot her disbelieving look.

“When he’s sober,” she added with a shrug. “They hung out all the time during the summers back then. I just never knew they also fucked. I mean, Jess was always out, but Mickey wasn’t. Obviously.”

“You think now that Mickey’s out, Jess wants him officially?” Carrie asked.

“That’s what he said,” Ian replied with a sigh.

Mandy wrapped her arm around Ian’s waist and squeezed once before letting go again. “Don’t worry. Remember what I told you this morning?”

Ian nodded.

“I meant it,” Mandy said and made sure to look him in the eyes. “I’ve never seen him like this. The way he is with you.”

Ian smiled at her. Then he nodded and excused himself to make his way over to Mickey and Jess.

“Hey,” Ian said as he squatted down next to Mickey.

Mickey smiled at him. “You wanna go for a swim?”

Ian grinned, surprised. He agreed and stood up again. He held a hand out for Mickey, who took it and got up as well.

Jess watched them closely and he didn’t miss the way Ian tried to pull his hand away, but Mickey held on. His brows furrowed, but Mickey pulled Ian away before Jess could say anything.

They wandered down the beach into the water. Ian immediately dived in. Until that moment he hadn’t even realized how hot it was, even though it was already late afternoon. Mickey walked into the water, letting his hands skim over the surface as he watched Ian resurface and shake off the water. Ian ran a hand over his face and hair and grinned up at Mickey.

“Come on! You scared of getting your hair do all messed up?” Ian teased and splashed Mickey with a bit of water.

Mickey flipped him off and splashed back. “Fuck off.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Ian asked and swam a little further into the water. Mickey followed him.

When Mickey was close enough, Ian splashed him with all the water he could gather. He raised his wet hands and pushed his fingers through Mickey’s hair.

Mickey swatted at him, saying, “Stop, you dick” and stumbling back. He fell backwards into the water.

Ian laughed loudly as he watched Mickey come back up, grumbling to himself. Mickey took the opportunity of a distracted Ian and surged forward, ducking Ian under the water. Ian escaped and returned the favor. They wrestled, splashing and ducking each other underwater.

Just when Ian came up to take a deep breath Mickey wrapped his hands around his lower arms and pulled him closer. Ian ran a hand over his face to discard some water and it knocked the breath right out of him again when he found Mickey’s face only inches away from his own. Mickey settled one of his hands on Ian’s neck and pulled him down. Ian followed his movements without protest, eyes wide open and mouth slack.

Then Mickey’s lips were on his. It took him a moment before he breathed loudly out of his nose and pushed back. Their lips moved together in a slow kiss and Ian’s arms wrapped around Mickey’s waist, pulling him closer.

Mickey pulled away a moment later and his eyes darted all over Ian’s face, his wide eyes, pink cheeks, and the red lips now slack again. Then his eyes shifted and he looked at something over Ian’s shoulder. Ian caught his breath for a moment before he followed Mickey’s gaze. The beach was behind him and there stood Mandy and Jess, watching them. His stomach dropped when realization hit him.

“I think Jess knows,” Mickey explained what Ian had already expected. “He asked me about us. Was worried he’d tell Mandy.”

Ian turned back to him. He smiled widely.

“Got it,” he said.

Mickey didn’t look at him again before he dove back into the water, Ian right behind him. They went back to their playful banter and while Ian tried hard to believe what Mickey had just told him, he couldn’t.

Mickey had kissed him and Ian knew it was more than just for cover. He had felt it in the way Mickey had held him, kissed him, looked at him. He couldn’t fake that.

\- ɕ - 

When Ian and Mickey eventually emerged from the water the sun had pretty much set. The last rays lit up the sand in their orange light and warmed up their wet bodies as they dried off. They joined the others who had set up the bonfire and sat next to Mandy and Carrie.

Mickey stayed close to Ian for the rest of the evening and Ian enjoyed the attention. After the kiss, he felt like Mickey would ignore him, try to put some distance between them. But he didn’t. He didn’t touch Ian as much as he would when it was only them and Mary and Mandy. He didn’t talk a lot either, but he was there. Right next to him (and not Jess).


	5. Sunday

When Ian woke up the next morning his eyes immediately focused in on Mickey. His face was right there, only inches away from Ian’s, and he was slowly blinking his eyes open as well. The bright sun shining through the windows was lighting up Mickey’s skin, rosy from sleep, and his hair lay mussed up against his pillow. His eyes found Ian’s.

Ian’s thoughts wandered back to the previous evening. Mickey’s rough hand gentle on his neck, his chapped lips soft against Ian’s. The memory of kissing Mickey made him feel awake, his entire body buzzing.

Mickey smiled warmly at him and the confidence he had felt the previous night flooded Ian’s system. He pushed forward and pressed his lips against Mickey’s. His eyes were squeezed shut, too afraid of what he would see. It didn’t matter. Mickey wasn’t kissing back and after an agonizingly long thirty seconds or so, Ian pulled back. His eyes were wide and he was frozen in place.

This wasn’t like the day before. This was only them, no audience, and the implication of Ian’s kiss was clear.

Mickey stared at him. His mouth was slack and his eyes were filled with something that Ian interpreted as pity. Maybe it was surprise, Ian didn’t know, didn’t care. The rejection hit him hard. He couldn’t stand the pity, whether it was Mickey’s or just his own projected into Mickey’s eyes.  

“Fuck,” he breathed out. “Fuck, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

He repeated it over and over as he frantically pushed back and rolled out of bed. He got his wash bag and fled out of the room.

\- ɕ -

Ian locked himself in the bathroom and let out a long breath. He just stood there for a moment, rewinding the last two minutes in his mind. The sound of Mickey leaving their bedroom brought him back. With a shake of his head he undressed and stepped into the shower, turning on the water.

He washed himself slowly trying to ban any thought of Mickey from his head. It didn’t work. He sighed. Then he let the thoughts flood his mind. Better to let it all out now when he was alone and nobody could hear him over the sound of the running water, he thought.

He sucked in a shuddering breath and let out a pathetic sob.  _‘Stupid, stupid, stupid,’_  his brain repeated over and over again. Ian stopped himself from slamming his fist into the wall. He didn’t know how he would explain that to Mary and he didn’t want to upset her on top of everything else.

He scrubbed his hands over his face and then raked his fingers through his hair before he let himself go fully. He cried and sobbed and rubbed at his skin until it felt raw and the water wasn’t as hot as before anymore. He took in a last shuddering breath before pulling himself together. He washed his face and turned off the water. After toweling himself off he stepped out of the shower and looked at himself in the mirror.

Nodding to himself he decided that he didn’t look too bad. He made his way into the bedroom. He got dressed quickly. After a pep talk, he made his way downstairs to join Mickey’s family for breakfast.

\- ɕ -

Mickey didn’t look at him when he sat down next to him and Mandy was regarding him warily. Ian furrowed his brows, but he didn’t say anything. Mary answered his unvoiced question a moment later anyway. “So you and Mickey aren’t actually dating?”

Ian’s eyebrows shot up his forehead and his head snapped around to Mickey. His eyes were fixed on his hands in his lap. Ian turned back to Mary.

“Uh … I … we-“

“Don’t worry,” Mary interrupted him with a smile. “Mickey told us and it’s fine. It’s very nice of you to pretend. To help him with this, I guess. You put up a pretty good show, the both of you.”

Ian looked away as he huffed out a low laugh.

“Yeah. ‘S what friends are for, right,” he said. He felt Mickey shift next to him, but he didn’t look at him.

“It’s good to know that he has someone he can count on down there in New York,” Mary said.

Ian nodded. He didn’t quite meet her eyes, couldn’t, but he let them hover somewhere on her face.

Mandy stayed silent. Her eyes flitted back and forth between Ian and her brother and Ian couldn’t decipher the look on her face. It looked like disappointment, but Ian wasn’t sure whether she was disappointed in him or Mickey. When Ian met her eyes, she offered him a small, but sad smile. Ian decided to ignore it.

Mary seemed to finally sense the awkward tension at the table and dropped the subject. The rest of the breakfast was spent in silence, interrupted only by the few idle conversations Mary and Mandy tried to start.

\- ɕ -

When breakfast was finally over and they had cleared the table in silence, Ian followed Mickey up to their bedroom. He closed the door behind him and looked down at his feet as he leaned against it. Mickey got dressed with his back to Ian.

“So, you told them?” Ian asked lowly.

“Yup,” Mickey said without looking at Ian.

Ian clenched his jaw and let out a long breath. “And you couldn’t have warned me? I looked like a fucking idiot.”

His voice was louder than anticipated, but he hadn’t even realized how angry he was until then. So what if he kissed Mickey, why did he have to go and drop Ian in it like that?

“I didn’t want to lie to them anymore,” Mickey said, sounding annoyed.

Ian huffed. “That’s fine, but  _why didn’t you let me know?”_

Mickey shrugged. Ian didn’t miss the uncertain glance over Mickey’s shoulder or the tension in his body. Ian sighed and slumped back against the door. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked up at Mickey.

“Listen,” he said, voice calmer now. “I’m sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

He paused but Mickey didn’t even turn to face him. He let out a shallow breath and said, “I can’t take it back and I don’t want to. But I hope I didn’t fuck everything up.” In a low voice he added, “You’re my best friend, Mickey.”

Mickey still didn’t react, so Ian gave up. He stood up straight and left the room without another word. He made his way back downstairs. He kept to himself as they waited for Mickey to be done so they could go down to the Carnival and open their booths.

\- ɕ -

Mary joined him at his booth as he wrote the rules they had agreed on at the meeting on a chalkboard. She stood next to him, waiting until he was done.

 

_‘Hello, my name is Ian. To make this experience a little more comfortable for all of us, here are some rules:_

_No tongue,_

_No teeth,_

_No groping,_

_If you have herpes or other STIs/STDs transmittable through kissing you may not take part in the kissing booth._

_Please take one of the provided mints before it is your turn. No worries, I am doing the same before every new customer.’_

 

“You good to go?” she asked as he clapped his hands to get rid of the chalk.

Ian nodded, still not quite meeting her eyes.

“You don’t have to feel guilty or embarrassed or whatever it is you’re feeling,” Mary said with a smile.

Ian looked up, his eyebrows raised. Her smile was warm and she reached her hand out to squeeze his upper arm.

“I know you like him. Nobody can play that,” she said.

Ian averted his eyes again, this time trying to hide his blush.

“I should open up, the place is getting full,” he said.

Mary nodded and with a last wave she walked away.

Ian sat down on one of the chairs in the booth and waited for the first people to come along. From his place he could see Mandy by the haunted house, collecting the tickets from a group of girls ready to go in. She looked annoyed and when her eyes met Ian’s she stared for a moment before she looked away again. She shook her head slightly. Ian looked away as well and tried not to wonder what Mandy was thinking. He found Mickey’s booth right on the other side of the Carnival. He couldn’t see him all that well, but he could tell that it was Jess next to him in the booth. He could see that they were talking and laughing and it made Ian’s heart churn a little.

He let out a long breath and turned back to the chair across from him just as a girl – maybe eighteen years old, brunette – sat down with a wide smile.

Ian laughed to himself when she left and the next girl sat down. He seemed to be keeping his promise after all. While kissing all these strangers, all he could think about was Mickey.

\- ɕ -

It was only a few minutes before his break and Ian was focused on watching Mandy as she was trying to soothe a little boy. She looked angry, but what she was telling the boy seemed to help. He calmed down slowly as he clung to Mandy.

In his peripheral he saw someone sitting down on the chair and slowly turned around. When he lifted his head, he froze, eyes wide and mouth agape.

Mickey was smiling at him. When he expectantly raised his eyebrows, Ian finally snapped out of it. His brows furrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line as he stared right back at Mickey. Before he could say anything, Mickey lifted his arm and showed Ian a box of Chinese food.

“My break ends when yours starts and I thought you might be hungry.”

Ian just stared for a little longer. Then he sighed.

“Go away, Mickey,” he said with a tired voice.

Mickey let his arm sink slowly as the smile slipped off his lips. He took a deep breath and leaned forward in his seat. “Kiss me, Gallagher.”

Ian rolled his eyes, but his voice only sounded tired when he spoke. “I said, fuck off.”

“I paid and you’re not on break yet. Come on.”

Ian clenched his jaw and watched Mickey. He was still smiling, but it didn’t look cocky anymore, just warm and despite his annoyance Ian felt his heart flutter.

Taking a deep breath Ian leaned forward. He felt Mickey’s hand settle on the back of his neck and felt goosebumps spread over his back. When Mickey’s breath hit his face, they spread over his entire body. Ian hated the effect Mickey had on him, but it felt good, so good.

Mickey pulled him in and with another look into Ian’s eyes, making sure he really was okay with this, Mickey leaned closer and connected their lips softly, just like the day before in the water. Ian couldn’t stop the soft hum from escaping his mouth. Mickey’s lips felt nice and warm as they moved together with his own.

After a moment Ian felt Mickey’s tongue against his lower lip and he placed a firm hand on Mickey’s chest. He pulled away and leaned his forehead against Mickey’s with a small smile.

“That’s against the rules,” he said and Mickey furrowed his brows. Ian pointed to the chalkboard.  _No tongue._

Mickey huffed out a laugh and squeezed the back of Ian’s neck. Then he pulled away. His hand slid down to cup Ian’s face, his thumb grazing over Ian’s pink kiss-swollen lips.

“You’re done in another two hours right?” Mickey asked, eyes fixed on his thumb tracing Ian’s lower lip. Ian nodded. The feeling of Mickey’s fingers lying gently against his skin made it tingle with excitement.

Mickey smiled. “Good. Meet me by my booth? So we can talk?”

“Okay,” he breathed out and mourned the lost touch when Mickey got up.

He leaned down once more to peck Ian’s lips before he made his way out of the booth. It took a minute for Ian to recover what had just happened. When he did, he couldn’t help but grin. He picked up the food Mickey had brought him and ate absentmindedly as he watched him go back to work on the other side of the Carnival. 

\- ɕ -

By the time Ian’s shift was over, he realized that he had managed to not think about Mickey all that much. After the kiss he felt like something had settled inside of him. He had focused on the people he had to kiss and had been preoccupied with a few ladies that had gotten a little too handsy. He guessed the wine booth right next to him had something to do with that.

After locking up his booth, he made his way slowly over to Mickey’s. He was glad when he didn’t see Jess anywhere.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” he asked and felt a little cocky when Mickey flipped him off. He grinned as Mickey untied the apron from around his neck and waist. Ian stood back and watched as Mickey walked around the booth and came back with Jess. Ian’s jaw clenched.

“Yeah sure, don’t be too long though,” Jess said right as they came to a stop in front of Ian.

“Thanks man, see you later,” Mickey said and then grabbed Ian by the arm without another word and pulled him with him.

Ian let him for a few feet before he pulled away to glare at Mickey.

“I can walk on my own, thank you very much,” he said. “You wanted to talk? Talk. But stop this, whatever it is.”

Ian emphasized his words with a random hand gesture.

Mickey sighed. “I thought you might wanna do this in private rather than in the middle of a Carnival.”

“If you want to tell me you’re not interested, you can do it here. If you want to tell me you don’t want to be my friend anymore, you can also do that here,” Ian said and crossed his arms over his chest.

Mickey rolled his eyes. “Jesus Christ, you are so dramatic.”

Ian raised his eyebrows and turned on his heels, ready to just walk off. Mickey grumbled to himself and caught up with him quickly. He took Ian by the elbow and turned him back around.

“Look, I came to your fucking booth and kissed you, didn’t I?” he said a bit angrily. “Do you really think that means I am not interested? That I don’t want to be your friend?”

Ian looked away, jaw set, and arms still crossed over his chest.

Mickey ran a hand over his face. “You wanna go to the beach? It’s a little calmer down there.”

Ian didn’t answer, but he followed Mickey as he made his way down to the peer. Mickey led him underneath the peer, where they could sit in the sand and nobody from the Carnival could see them. They were quiet for a moment, letting their aggravation settle.

“I’m sorry I froze this morning, I didn’t expect it,” Mickey started lowly.

“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have. I knew this trip would get my hopes up and it was stupid,” Ian interrupted with a wave of his hand. His heart was beating a little faster and his eyes stung. He didn’t know why he still didn’t believe that maybe Mickey was interested. He had already said it, but it still felt like he didn’t want what Ian wanted.

“Wasn’t stupid, Ian,” Mickey said.

“Oh yeah? You didn’t seem very into it this morning,” Ian retorted.

“Did I seem into it two hours ago?”

Ian shrugged.

“Doesn’t mean you want to be my boyfriend,” Ian mumbled.

Mickey rolled his eyes and turned more towards Ian. “You’re a dumbass, you know that?”

Ian huffed out a bitter laugh. “No kidding.”

“Ian, I’ve been into you since we fucking met. Didn’t think you were,” Mickey said, the last part almost a whisper.

Ian spun his head around, eyes wide and arms thrown in the air.

“ _Why?”_  he exclaimed. “I was practically drooling over you that first night.”

Mickey laughed. “Yeah, because you wanted to hook up. I wasn’t really up for a one-night-stand at the time and you never made a move again.”

“This is so fucked up,” Ian said with a shake of his head. He turned back to the water, but his lips quirked into a small smile.

They were quiet for a while, eyes flitting to the other every now and then, but never meeting. Eventually Ian looked down at his fingers and whispered, “You gonna kiss me again?”

Mickey looked at him with a smirk. “You want me to?”

“Yeah,” Ian said with a smile and finally looked up at Mickey.

Mickey grinned and wrapped his hand around Ian’s neck, a gesture Ian had come to love and crave the past few days. He pulled Ian closer until he had to straddle Mickey’s lap. Ian’s hands came up to frame Mickey’s face as Mickey’s free arm slung around Ian’s waist.

“You sure?” Ian asked lowly, eyes fixed on Mickey’s lips.

Mickey just nodded and pulled Ian into a deep kiss. They both sighed into it, then laughed against each other’s lips.

They made out for what felt like hours, hands roaming over bodies and under shirts, lips trailing over skin leaving hot wet bruises. It wasn’t until Mickey’s phone rang that they broke apart. He had to go back to his booth until the Carnival closed and Ian went back to the house to help Mary cook dinner.

\- ɕ -

Ian thought breakfast had been awkward that morning, but dinner definitely trumped that. He had no idea how to act around Mickey. Sure, they had established mutual interest in each other, but they had yet to talk about what that meant. Were they a couple? Did Mickey want to let his family know?

So Ian refrained from touching Mickey in any way that would indicate romantic feelings. That seemed to throw off Mickey, though. He kept frowning at Ian. The whole situation resulted in Ian sitting next to Mandy instead of Mickey, opposite of Mary. The new seating order made everything more awkward, because neither Mary nor Mandy knew why Ian and Mickey were acting weird. Were they fighting? Were they not talking to each other?

It was a mess. Luckily, the new seating order allowed for Mary and Mandy to talk over the table, effectively cutting off any conversation Ian and Mickey could have potentially started. And the Carnival gave them enough subjects to talk about for the entire dinner.

\- ɕ -

Ian sighed languidly when he finally dropped onto the mattress of their bed. He watched as Mickey undressed and pulled on a pair of sweats. He was pleased to see that Mickey decided not to wear a shirt to bed this time.

“That was kinda messy,” Ian said when Mickey climbed into the bed next to him.

Mickey shrugged and mumbled something Ian didn’t understand. He lay on his side, back to Ian, and settled. Ian waited a beat, before he settled as well. He stared at Mickey’s back. They were quiet, but Ian had spent enough nights next to Mickey in the past year and a half to know he wasn’t anywhere close to falling asleep.

“You uh, you wanna talk about it?” he asked shyly.

“I thought we talked at the Carnival,” Mickey said, but he didn’t sound annoyed, just tired.

“I know, I just,” Ian said and took a deep breath. “Dinner was awkward and maybe we should talk about … stuff. Like, do we tell your family? Or do you not want them to know?”

He watched Mickey closely.

“Tell them what?” Mickey just asked.

Ian blushed hard before he recognized the tone of Mickey’s voice.

“You’re an asshole,” he said, pushing at Mickey’s head. Then he scooted closer. He pulled on Mickey’s shoulder until he turned onto his back. Ian propped himself up on his hands above Mickey. “Do we tell them we’re a couple?”

Mickey smiled. He pulled Ian down to peck his lips before pushing him away. He tapped Ian’s shoulder until he turned his back to Mickey. Ian felt Mickey’s strong arm wrapping around his waist. He looked down and ran a finger over it. The touch stirred the butterflies in Ian’s stomach and made his skin tingle.

“We’ll tell them tomorrow okay?” Mickey whispered into his ear.

“Okay.”

“Good,” Mickey said and settled back down, brushing his lips over Ian’s neck. “Now sleep. I’m exhausted.”

Ian grinned and when he felt Mickey’s breathing even out, he wrapped his fingers around Mickey’s hand on his chest and pulled his arm tighter around himself. He entwined their fingers and a minute later he was asleep as well.


	6. Monday

Ian woke up warm and comfortable. Mickey’s arm was still wrapped tightly around his waist, their fingers entangled, and warm breath washed over the back of his neck making his skin prickle. A smile spread over his lips as he slowly blinked his eyes open. The sun hit him right the face and he decided to use that as his excuse to turn around to Mickey.

Mickey’s eyes shot open just as Ian settled. He squeezed them shut before blinking them open again. Ian watched him with a grin. Mickey’s arm around him tightened for a moment before he pulled away to shake out his other arm.

“Morning,” he rasped, turning his head to look at Ian.

“Morning.”

Ian scooted towards him a little. His brows were furrowed and he cautiously reached a hand out. Mickey watched him with raised eyebrows and quirked lips.

“You want something?” he asked.

Ian scooted closer and let his finger trail over Mickey’s arm. His eyes shortly flitted up to Mickey’s before settling back on his finger. Then he hooked it under the waistband of Mickey’s sweatpants and pulled slightly. He looked up at him again, keeping eye contact this time. Mickey looked away and snorted. He looked back to Ian and started laughing. Ian frowned and grumbled. He just wanted to pull his finger away when Mickey reached out an arm and pulled Ian in. He wrapped it around the back of his neck, pulling him closer. A grin finally broke out on Ian’s face and he rolled himself on top of Mickey.

“Morning,” he said again.

Mickey laughed and pulled Ian down for a kiss. Ian’s fingers pushed into his hair and he groaned when they scratched his scalp softly. Mickey’s arms were wrapped tightly around Ian’s torso, keeping him close and allowing his hands to roam over his back and through his hair.

After a few seconds Ian shifted and their groins pushed together. They moaned into their kiss and their movements became more heated. Mickey’s hand slipped into the back of Ian’s sweatpants spreading out over one of his buttocks still covered by the fabric of his boxer briefs. He gripped it, pulling Ian’s hips against his. Ian parted from the kiss, pulling Mickey’s bottom lip with his teeth for a moment before letting go and latching onto his neck. Mickey’s fingers of his other hand gripped onto Ian’s hair as they continued to roll their hips together.

Their breathing became labored and both felt the other’s rock hard dick against their own. Ian kept one hand on the back of Mickey’s head. His other travelled down his side and gripped his hip. He rocked harder against Mickey making him moan lowly, trying to muffle it against Ian’s shoulder. Just when Ian came up, needy to press his lips against Mickey’s again, there was a knock.

They froze, staring at each other. Then there was another knock and before Ian could react Mickey pushed him off of him like he was a deadly insect and Ian tumbled to the floor. The sound of his butt hitting the hardwood floor and his hiss caused whoever knocked to barge through the door without another warning.

“Oh shit, you okay?” Mandy asked when she saw Ian on the ground, rubbing his behind.

Mickey was covering himself with a blanket. Ian didn’t care. His boner was long gone from the pain and rejection he felt.

“Yeah, all good,” he said.

Mandy watched him for a moment longer until he got up and made his way around the bed to his bag. He started to rummage through it for clothes and his wash bag when Mandy spoke again.

“Mom told me to get you guys for breakfast,” she explained.

“I’m just gonna have a shower,” Ian said already standing by the bathroom door.

“Me too,” Mickey said. “We’ll hurry. Tell her if it gets too late we’ll take a motel so we don’t have to drive through the night. So she doesn’t worry.”

Mandy scoffed. “You can tell her that yourself.”

Mickey flipped her off as Mandy turned on her heels and waltzed back out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Mickey turned to Ian with a grin. “You wanna shower together?”

Ian frowned at him. He shook his head. “Nah.”

He opened the door to the bathroom when Mickey suddenly appeared next to him.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Ian sighed and held on to the door. “I’m cool if you don’t want them to know. Just don’t lie to me.”

“I want them to know,” Mickey said and put a hand on Ian’s arm. “I’m just not used to having a proper boyfriend. You know I never had one.”

Ian took his hand and squeezed it. “Well you took me here to pretend to be your boyfriend and you seemed to do pretty good pretending.”

“You know I wasn’t really pretending right?” Mickey asked.

Ian shrugged. “Yeah I guess. Now at least.”

“Well, I wasn’t. At least not the way you think. I was pretending it was real, because it felt nice. Because it felt good to pretend you’re my boyfriend.”

“Yeah?” Ian asked with a grin.

Mickey shook his head. “Fuck off, man. You know it’s true. But an _actual_  boyfriend? And my mom or Mandy seeing us almost cuming in our pants?”

“Didn’t even think of that,” Ian admitted laughingly.

Mickey smiled. “I want to be with you Ian and I am going to tell my family. I just didn’t want it to be that way.”

“Okay,” Ian said with a smile.

Mickey reciprocated with a suggestive smile.

“So I was thinking we could really get a room in a hotel for the night,” he said. “We’re not in a rush and maybe it’d be nice before we get back into the real world.”

Ian looked up at Mickey through his eyelashes.

“Is it going to be different when we get back into the  _real world_?” he asked lowly.

Mickey’s brows furrowed. “What?”

Ian looked down. Mickey squeezed his hand and Ian raised his head.

“When we get back into real life, is this,” Ian said and pointed a finger between the two of them, “going to change?”

“Change how?” Mickey asked.

“Change as in, not happening. You know?” Ian sounded almost exasperated now.

Mickey smiled and placed his free hand on the back of Ian’s neck again. He shook him a little. “I thought we established that last night.”

Ian shrugged. “Just want to be sure we’re on the same page.”

“You’re my best friend, Ian. And you’re my boyfriend. Here, in New York, and in the rest of the world okay?”

Ian smiled as he looked down at their entwined hands. “So a real couple? All the time?”

Mickey huffed out a laugh. “Yeah.”

“Like, tell-the-family-real-couple?” Ian asked and watched Mickey cautiously.

“Go take your shower. I will tell them at breakfast,” Mickey said and pushed Ian a little. Ian grinned, satisfied, and smacked his lips against Mickey’s cheek.

“Thanks, babe,” he said and quickly escaped into the bathroom.

“I hate you,” Mickey grumbled, but there was a fond smile on his lips.

\- ɕ -

Ian and Mickey sat next to each other at breakfast. It was early and the selection of food wasn’t as broad as it usually was. They had to leave soon, so they only had a small breakfast. Ian stole a piece of bacon from Mickey’s plate and ate it with a proud smirk. Mickey grumbled a little, but didn’t protest. He smiled into his orange juice instead.

“So, you two seem to get along just fine again,” Mary said as she watched them.

Ian stopped mid-chew. His eyes flickered to Mickey and he slowly started chewing again. Mickey bit his lip, but the smile was obvious. He sighed and scooted his chair a little closer to the table and Ian. He chanced a last look at Ian who smiled at him.

“Yeah,” he said. “We uh, we’re dating now. For real and all.”

Mickey thumbed at his lower lip. He glanced at Ian. Ian caught his eyes and reached his hand over. He pulled his thumb away from his lip and entwined their fingers. They looked up to find Mary and Mandy watching them.

Mary clapped her hands together. “Awesome. I’m glad you finally got off your asses and got this over with.”

Mickey raised his eyebrows sharply. “Excuse me?”

“Oh Mickey, my dear brother,” Mandy said with a roll of her eyes. “It was more than obvious. Maybe we didn’t know you weren’t together in the beginning –“

“We did see how much you liked each other though,” Mary finished for her. “You two are really meant for each other –“

“Because neither of you has ever learned subtlety,” Mandy finished with a laugh.

Mickey let out a long breath as he looked between his mother and sister. Then he glanced at Ian. Mickey got up with a start and clasped his hands.

“I guess we’re leaving then.”

“Awww Mickey,” Mandy and Mary said at the same time and laughed.

“Yeah Mickey, come on,” Ian said. He smiled at Mickey and pulled him back by his hand.

Mickey sighed, but he sat back down.

“You all suck,” he grumbled.

The others laughed and Ian squeezed his hand.

“We’re just joking with you, Mickey,” his mom said. “We’re happy for you two.”

“Took you long enough,” Mandy chimed in.

Mickey flipped her off.

\- ɕ -

“That went well,” Ian said as he heaved their luggage into the trunk.

Mickey was leaning against the car, his arms crossed over his chest. He watched Ian.

“I guess,” he said.

Ian shut the trunk. He walked to stand in front of Mickey and leaned his hands on the car on each side of Mickey’s head. He leaned in and pecked his lips. “It went well.”

Mickey smiled and pulled Ian into a longer kiss.

“Oh lovebirds,” Mandy’s voice interrupted them. “Stop grossing out the neighborhood and come say goodbye.”

She and Mary reached the gate. They each pulled Ian into hugs first. When Mary pulled away she squeezed his arms and wished him luck with her son. That earned her a glare from Mickey. Mandy whispered a threat into his ear in case he ever hurt her brother. Ian nodded and in a volume Mickey could hear she said, “In case you ever get bored of Mickey, hit me up. You can always come to California and live with me.”

Mickey flipped her off before pulling her in.

Ian stood back. He leaned against the car and watched the small family with a smile. Out of his peripheral he saw something move. When he turned his head he saw Jess walk up the street and straight over to Mickey. Ian’s eyes followed him.

“Hey,” Jess said so softly Ian almost didn’t hear it. It made him a little sick.

“Hey,” Mickey said back just as softly, but his eyes flitted to Ian.

Ian relaxed back against the car and shrugged. Mickey looked back to Jess.

“You’re leaving?” Jess asked.

Ian rolled his eyes, because he thought that was obvious. Mary and Mandy stood a few feet behind Mickey watching the interaction just as closely as Ian. Jess didn’t seem to be aware of the audience he had.

“Yeah, we’re leaving,” Mickey said with a smile and his eyes found Ian’s again making his heart flutter a little.

“You want me to call?” Jess asked. “When I’m back in New York? We can meet up, reminisce and all that.”

His hands found Mickey’s hips and Ian dug his nails into the palms of his hands. Mickey let out an awkward laugh and wrapped his hands around Jess’s wrists to pull his hands away.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Mickey said and Ian relaxed again. “I’m taken, remember?”

“You ready to go?” Ian asked loudly, his smile too sweet.

Jess jumped a little and turned around to Ian. They stared each other down for a moment. Then Jess nodded to him and pushed his hands into his pockets. He nodded to Mary, Mandy, and then Mickey before he turned and made his way back down the street.

“Well,” Mary said and clapped her hands. “We don’t want to keep you any longer.”

She pulled both of them into a last hug before she pushed them away gently. “Go before I start crying.”

“Mom, we’re gonna see Mickey for Thanksgiving,” Mandy said as she as well pulled them into a last hug.

“I’m talking about Ian,” she said and turned to him. “Promise me you’ll come for Thanksgiving as well.”

“He has his own family, mom,” Mickey said.

“He can bring them as well,” she said.

Ian laughed and laid a hand on Mary’s shoulder. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Good,” she said with a smile.

“Jesus, my mom already loves you more than me,” Mickey grumbled.

Mary swatted at him. “Shut up, Mickey. You know that is not true.” She pulled him into a tight hug and kissed his cheek. “You are my baby.”

“Awwww,” Ian and Mandy cooed.

Mickey flipped them off. He motioned for Ian to get into the car and got into the driver’s seat himself. They waved once more as they turned. Then they were off. Ten minutes later Mickey pulled onto the highway. 

\- ɕ -

“This is nice,” Ian said out of the blue.

They had been driving for a good hour without saying a word. It was a comfortable silence. Ian watched the country flash by his window. Mickey kept glancing at him, his lips quirked into a small smile.

“What?” Mickey asked.

“This … us,” Ian said and shrugged. He was looking at Mickey.

“Yeah,” Mickey said with a grin. He reached his hand over, palm up.

Ian smiled back and slipped his hand in his. He placed them on his lap and wrapped his other hand around them.

“You happy?” he asked.

Mickey huffed out a laugh. “Of course, why?”

Ian shrugged. “Dunno. The first few months I kept looking for … signs or something…”

“I told you –“

“I know, I know,” Ian interrupted. “You learned how to hide it. It’s cool.” He sighed. “I guess I just can’t really wrap my head around it yet.”

Mickey smiled and squeezed Ian’s hand. “Then you better start, ‘cause it’s true.”

Ian looked up at Mickey. He smiled back. Just as he opened his mouth to say something else the song on the radio changed. 

 

_‘Oh don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me.’_

 

Ian grinned and turned up the volume. Mickey groaned.

 

_We were victims of the night_

_The chemical, physical, kryptonite_

_Helpless to the bass and fading light_

**_Oh we were born to get together, born to get together._ **

 

Ian sang along loudly. He looked directly to Mickey when he sang the last part. Mickey kept glancing at him, his lips stuck in a constant grin now. He whipped his head a little. Ian moved around in his seat, dancing, and using their hands as a microphone. 

 

_She took my arm_

_I don't know how it happened._

_We took the floor and she said, ‘Oh don't you dare look back. Just keep your eyes on me.’_

 

“You’re the worst,” Mickey groaned.

“We need to stop at a gas station soon,” Ian said suddenly, still moving to the song though.

Mickey frowned. “Why?”

Ian looked at him and said matter-of-factly, “Because I want to make out with you.”

Mickey laughed loudly, but didn’t object. Ian smiled and kissed the back of his hand.

 

_She took my arm_

_I don't know how it happened._

_We took the floor and she said, ‘Hey! Oh don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me._

_I said, ‘You're holding back’_

_She said, ‘Shut up and dance with me!’_

**_This boy is my destiny_ **

 

Ian grinned, proud of himself for that idea. Then he yelled, “Oh come on boy!” and jumped into a ridiculous air guitar solo, letting go of Mickey’s hand in the process. Mickey laughed loudly, watching him out of the corner of his eye.

When the guitar solo was over, Ian grabbed his hand again, holding them up again like a microphone.

 

_Deep in her eyes, I think I see the future._

_I realize this is my last chance._

_She took my arm, I don't know how it happened._

_We took the floor and she said, ‘Heeeey.”_

 

Ian leaned in to Mickey as the song slowed down.

 

_‘Oh don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me.’_

_I said, ‘You’re holding back.’_

_She said, ‘Shut up and dance with me!’_

_This **boy**  is my destiny._

_He said, ‘Oh oh oh, Shut up and dance!’_

 

He pressed a kiss to Mickey’s cheek and slumped back in his seat to finish the song. 

 

_Just keep your eyes on me._

_I said, ‘You're holding back.’_

_She said, ‘Shut up and dance with me!’_

_This boy is my destiny._

_He said, ‘Oh oh oh, Shut up and dance with me!’_

 

“That’s our song Mickey,” Ian said when he was done.

Mickey smiled. “Yeah?”

Ian nodded. “Yeah.”

“Okay,” Mickey said and squeezed Ian’s hand.

\- ɕ -

They pulled up to a gas station about half an hour later. Mickey parked the car on the last parking spot in the far back of the parking lot. The second he pulled the key out Ian was on him. His hands wrapped around the back of Mickey’s neck and pulled him in. Mickey groaned. He climbed over the center console and into Ian’s lap. He straddled him and finally their lips crashed together. The kiss was rough and needy. Their hands roamed over each other’s bodies, pulling and pushing to get closer and closer.

“Back,” Mickey panted. “To the back.”

Ian nodded, but latched onto Mickey’s neck instead. Mickey groaned. He pushed him away reluctantly and climbed onto the backseat. Ian was right behind him. Mickey fell on his back and Ian was on top of him in under a second. He pushed his hands under Mickey’s shirt and let them roam over Mickey’s smooth skin. His teeth grazed over Mickey’s neck, running over his pulse point.

Mickey cocked his head to the side. His fingers were buried deep in Ian’s hair, pushing and pulling. He rocked his hips up. His groin met Ian’s and they both groaned.

“I don’t have anything here,” Ian panted. He brushed his lips over Mickey’s cheek until they found Mickey’s.

Mickey moaned into the kiss. He wrapped his arms tightly around Ian’s waist and turned them around. Ian huffed out a laugh, but Mickey sucked his way down Ian’s neck, shutting him up.

Ian moaned. His hands found Mickey’s ass and he pushed them past the waistband of his jeans. He kneaded Mickey’s ass until he felt the vibrations of his moan against his skin. He opened his legs. Mickey settled between them and started rolling his hips.

His hands were roaming all over Ian’s body. Ian used one of his own to grab the back of Mickey’s head. He held him close and they rolled their hips together.

“Fuck, Ian,” Mickey moaned into his mouth.

“Off,” Ian groaned. “Pants off.”

Mickey nodded frantically. He dropped his hands and managed to open both their pants in seconds. They hurriedly pushed them down, leaving the boys in their boxer briefs.

“ _Jesus_ ,” Ian groaned when their groins came together again. Then he breathed a hot, “Mickey” against Mickey’s lips.

Their lips were only brushing against each other, neither of them able to initiate a proper kiss. Their movements became faster, harder, and a few minutes later they stilled together.

“Fuck,” Mickey groaned.

Ian pushed his face against Mickey’s neck as he came hard in his underwear. Mickey filled his own above him. They rocked together for another minute or two before they stopped. Ian pulled lightly at Mickey’s hair until he came up to look at him. Mickey was smiling. Ian lifted his head to press his lips against Mickey’s.

This kiss was soft. Ian hummed into it and cupped Mickey’s face with both hands. Mickey’s hands were wrapped around Ian’s biceps.

They made out for a while. Then they got new boxers from their bags, cleaned up in the gas station’s toilet, changed, and got back into the front seats. Ian took Mickey’s hand in his again when he pulled back onto the highway. He kissed the back of it.

“Wake me when it’s time to switch,” he said.

“Sure,” Mickey said and watched out of the corner of his eye, as Ian got comfortable in his seat. He fell asleep quickly, sated, and with Mickey’s hand in his.

\- ɕ -

When Ian woke up, it was dark outside and the car wasn’t moving anymore. He looked around confused and with bleary eyes. Fingers were running through his hair. He whipped his head around. His eyes settled on Mickey.

“We’re home,” Mickey said.

He groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Already? Why didn’t you wake me to switch?”

Mickey shrugged. “You were sleeping and I didn’t get tired.”

Ian grinned at him.

“Awww, you’re so sweet Mickey. You didn’t wanna wake me up,” he sing-sang.

Mickey groaned and shoved him before getting out of the car. “Shut up. I’m not sweet.”

“Hmm-mm.” Ian still grinned at him as they made their way upstairs. When they got to Mickey’s door, Ian leaned against the frame.

“So, your place or mine?” he asked lowly.

Mickey snorted. “Jesus, am I gonna have to deal with this shit all the time now?”

Ian pushed at him. “Yes, Sir. And don’t pretend you don’t love it.”

“Fuck off,” Mickey said. “You’re a pain in the ass.”

“Hmm,” Ian said with a grin and followed Mickey through the now open door. “Well at least I can be a _real_  pain in  _your_  ass now.”

“Jesus Christ,” Mickey groaned.

Ian laughed and made his way to the kitchen. Mickey dropped his bag by the sofa and plopped down on it. When Ian joined him he handed him a beer, keeping a can of soda for himself. Mickey thanked him and took a long drink from his beer. They sat quietly next to each other until Ian turned to Mickey.

“So, you wanna belatedly christen the bed we built together?” he asked with a grin.

Mickey laughed and ran his hand over Ian’s thigh before looking up at him. “Sure.”

Ian didn’t waste a second. He took Mickey’s beer and sat it next to his can of soda on the table. Then he straddled him. Mickey met him halfway in a deep kiss. Ian let it happen for only a moment before he pulled away. He took Mickey’s hands and pulled him up, leading him to his bedroom.

Mickey closed the door and Ian pulled him in again. They moved slowly, savoring every touch. Ian let his lips and hands roam all over Mickey’s body as they undressed each other. Then he pushed him onto the bed.

Mickey grinned up at him. He pulled him down on top of him.

They kissed before Ian pulled away. He moved his mouth down Mickey’s neck, scattering small hickeys over the pale skin. He trailed down his chest until he found a nipple. He wrapped his lips around it, teasing it with his tongue and teeth. Then he moved onto the other one until it was hard and Mickey was moaning above him.

Mickey’s fingers ran through Ian’s hair, absentmindedly massaging his scalp. His eyes were closed. He focused completely on Ian’s lips exploring his body. A low moan escaped his throat when Ian’s tongue skimmed over the top of his half hard dick. He rolled his hips.

Ian pulled away and settled on his stomach between Mickey’s legs. He sucked on Mickey’s inner thighs, leaving a hot trail of wet dark hickeys and kisses. He heard Mickey whimpering above him and his hands were pulling on Ian’s hair. When Ian pushed his tongue against his perineum, Mickey’s back arched off of the mattress.

“Ian,” he panted. “Please.”

Ian smiled and wrapped his hands around the tops of Mickey’s thighs. He moved up and sucked one of Mickey’s balls into his mouth. Then the other. Mickey was whimpering and moaning shamelessly above him. Finally, he flattened his tongue against the base of Mickey’s dick and licked up the underside of it.

Mickey’s breath hitched and his grip on Ian’s hair tightened. He let out a shuddering breath.

“Yeah,” he sighed.

Ian sucked the head into his mouth. He circled his tongue around it, pressed it against the slit, and let go. He licked up the underside again. Then he took hold of Mickey’s dick with one hand and guided it into his mouth. His lips wrapped tightly around the flushed skin. He hollowed his cheeks and started moving up and down. His tongue pressed tightly against it.

Mickey’s back was arched, his mouth slack. He twisted his hands into the sheets, because he didn’t want to risk ripping Ian’s hair out. His hips rolled shallowly, using up the last control he had.

“Fuck, fuck, _Ian_ ,” he moaned loudly.

Ian sucked hard one more time, before he pulled off. His breath fanned over Mickey’s dick making it twitch.

“You got lube?” he asked hoarsely.

Mickey just moaned and pointed to his bedside table. Ian moved up and retrieved the small bottle and a condom. He slicked up his fingers and settled back between Mickey’s legs. He let one slick finger circle around Mickey’s hole.

“Is this okay?” he asked.

Mickey snorted. “Yes, fuck. I’m not a virgin.”

Ian stopped. He sat up a little to be able to look at Mickey. He frowned. “You’re not?”

Mickey opened his eyes and stared at Ian. He saw the small smirk on his lips and flipped him off. “Fuck off, just because you haven’t heard anything doesn’t mean I didn’t get laid in the past one and a half years.”

“Did you know you become a virgin again after a year of not having sex?” Ian said undeterred.

Mickey kicked his heel into the back of Ian’s thigh. “Shut the fuck up, asshole and fuck me.”

Ian’s eyebrows rose. “Quite the attitude you got there.”

“Jesus, Ian,” Mickey growled.

Ian laughed and kissed the inside of Mickey’s thigh before he got back to work. He pushed the first finger in deep.

“ _Jesus_ ,” Mickey moaned out and huffed out a laugh.

Ian pulled his finger out again. He set a rhythm with it, slowly fingering Mickey open. His lips wrapped around the head of Mickey’s dick again. He sucked on it, circled his tongue, and licked over the slit. His hand pumped the rest of his dick. Then he pushed a second finger in, scissoring Mickey open.

He got up to three fingers before Mickey panted out a wracked, “Ready.”

Ian retrieved his fingers and pulled off of Mickey’s now rock hard and leaking dick. He wiped his fingers on the sheets. He leaned over Mickey and kissed him deeply. Their tongues moved together slowly. Ian grabbed the condom. He jerked himself to full hardness and slipped it on. Then he guided himself into Mickey.

Mickey pulled away from the kiss when Ian pressed past his rim. He breathed hard against his lips. His hands were on Ian’s neck and in his hair, holding him close.

“Fuck,” he groaned.

Ian pushed further until he bottomed out. He gave them a few seconds to adjust. Then Mickey started rolling his hips against his. Ian cupped Mickey’s face with one hand, letting his thumb settle on Mickey’s thick lips. With the other he held onto Mickey’s hip. Their faces were close, eyes locked, and their breaths mingled hotly between them. Then he started moving. The pace they settled on was slow, rhythmic, but Ian’s thrusts were hard and deep.

Ian came first. His face was buried in Mickey’s shoulder. He choked out a groan and his hips stuttered. He kept moving though for a minute until Mickey came as well, with a moan, nails digging into Ian’s back. They moved together through the aftershocks until they stilled.

Ian slowly peeled himself off of Mickey and pulled out. He discarded the condom. Mickey got a little more comfortable on his back and pulled the blanket out from under him. Ian fell back down on the bed, half covering Mickey. His leg lay between Mickey’s, his arm and head on Mickey’s stomach and chest. Mickey covered them with the blanket. Then he wrapped his arms tightly around Ian and pulled him closer. He kissed the top of his head and without another word they both fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The thing about ‘becoming a virgin again’ was something my friend read somewhere once (I don’t remember the exact timeframe anymore though) and it’s something about the hymen growing back together or whatever. Just in case it throws anyone off, it just became a running joke for me and my friends and I thought it’d be funny and I have no idea if there is any scientific truth to this at all :)


	7. Epilogue

_One year later_

It smelt like hot bacon, scrambled eggs, and banana pancakes. On the counter sat a big bowl filled with various cut-up fruits. Ian bopped his hips slightly from side to side to the rhythm of the song he was humming. He flipped a pancake. He was only in his boxers, because that year’s summer was especially hot.

Mickey was standing in the door to his bedroom, leaning against the frame, as he watched him. Ian looked good in his kitchen, at home. Warmth spread through Mickey’s body like it did every time he saw Ian and he smiled.

The ringing of a phone interrupted the serene silence of the morning. Mickey saw Ian startle and snorted. He watched as Ian picked it up and pressed the speaker button before putting it back down on the counter, continuing with the pancakes.

“Yeah?” he said.

“Hey Ian,” Fiona’s voice sounded through the phone. “How are you, my dearest brother?”

Ian snorted and maneuvered the finished pancake onto the stack next to him. “Dearest brother?”

“I love you all the same,” Fiona said seriously. “Don’t you dare doubt that. You are all my dearest.”

“Fiona, I would never,” he said with a smile.   
“Don’t get cocky with me.”

“Again, I would  _never_.”

Mickey decided to make himself known and strolled over to Ian. Ian turned and smiled at him, letting his eyes travel over Mickey’s naked torso. He pouted when his eyes landed on Mickey’s sweatpants. Mickey huffed out a laugh and flipped him off. He ran a hand through his mussed hair and stole a piece of watermelon before leaning sideways against the counter, watching Ian.

“Fiona,” Ian mouthed. Then he turned back to the stove for the bacon and asked for Fiona to hear, “So, what’s up big sis?”

“What? You’re not even gonna ask how I am?” she protested.

Ian chuckled. “Oh, I am so sorry. How are you, dearest sister?”

Mickey didn’t listen to her answer. Instead, he came to stand behind Ian, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him back a little. Ian automatically ran a hand over Mickey’s clasped hands and smiled. Mickey pressed his warm, chapped lips to Ian’s shoulder. He let them travel up over the side of Ian’s neck and, with a hum, Ian tilted his head to give Mickey more room.

“What was that?” Fiona asked and startled him a little.

“What was what?” he asked.

“That hum.” She paused. Then she squeaked a little. “Fuck, Ian. Are you having sex right now?”

Mickey laughed, hot breath hitting Ian’s skin and causing a small gathering of goosebumps to appear right there. Mickey flicked his tongue over the spot.

“What? No,” he protested. “We’re making breakfast.”

“Ah-okay,” Fiona answered and Mickey could almost hear her eye-roll. “Anyway, I want you and Mickey to come to Chicago next weekend. It’s been a year and I want to meet the guy.”

Mickey’s hands were running all over Ian’s torso now and just when he wanted to answer Fiona, Mickey’s hand skimmed over his covered dick. Ian choked.

“Ian?” Fiona asked with a little warning in her voice.

“Uh, yeah,” Ian said. “Uh, but you’ve met him. All of you have.”

Fiona sighed. “Saying ‘hello’ in the hallway for two seconds the few times we’ve come to visit  _before_ you were dating, doesn’t count as meeting. Come on.”

Ian tapped the mute button and groaned. Mickey was still running his hand over Ian’s dick and ground his own hips against his butt. His kisses to Ian’s skin had become hotter and wetter. Ian tapped the mute button again, one hand on Mickey’s, stilling his motions.

“Fine,” he said. “We’ll be there. No being shitty though.”

“Promise,” Fiona said. “And never fucking take my call again while you’re having sex.”

“We’re not –“ he tried, but Fiona had already hung up. Ian sighed. He pushed Mickey’s hand away and turned around with a smile. “You’re an asshole.”

Mickey grinned and leaned up for a kiss. Ian wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him close. 

“The rest after breakfast,” he murmured against Mickey’s lips when they pulled away. “This was a lot of work.”

Mickey groaned, but pulled away from Ian to inspect the food properly. “Mary-style breakfast?”

Ian nodded proudly and ushered Mickey over to the table. He set everything up and sat down across from him. They ate in silence for a while, shooting each other looks and grinning widely every so often. Eventually Ian reached a hand over and took Mickey’s.

“Happy anniversary,” he said.

Mickey rolled his eyes, but smiled. “Happy anniversary.”

Ian laughed and leaned back to finish his eggs. “So what do you think about Fiona’s invitation? She wants you to meet the family.”

Mickey sighed. “Do I have to?”

Ian cocked his head, eyes wide and pleading.

“Fine,” Mickey relented. He finished his food and leaned back in his seat. He grinned at Ian, waiting for him to be done as well.

“ _May_  I suck your dick now?” he asked as soon as Ian was done chewing his last bite

Ian laughed and made a rolling motion with his hand as though he was about to bow down. “You may.”

Mickey flipped him off and pulled him along to the bedroom.

\- ɕ -

Mickey was standing in front of the large mirror opposite the bed when Ian came out of the shower. They had chosen to stay in a hotel for the weekend in Chicago. A good choice, Mickey decided, as he inspected his outfit. 

He was wearing a pair of dark jeans that Ian had gotten for him a few months back. It was his favorite pair of pants. Not just because of the sentimental value, but because they fit him well, sat comfortably around his waist, and were always good for an impeccable first impression. The jeans were a no-brainer. What was frustrating him was the question of the right shirt. He was holding a dark blue Henley and a black V-neck, both on hangers, in front of him. His face was scrunched up in thought.

Ian leaned against the doorframe, only covered by the towel around his hips. He watched Mickey with a smile. “You okay?”

Mickey groaned and dropped his arms. “I don’t know which one. What does your family know about me?”

Ian’s brows furrowed. “How’s that important?”

“Just tell me.”

Ian sighed and moved around to stand behind Mickey. He wrapped his arms around his waist and looked at him through the mirror. 

“They know your name,” he said and kissed Mickey’s shoulder. “They know how we met.” A kiss to the junction of neck and shoulder. “They know a bit about the trip to meet your family.” A kiss to his jawline. “They know enough about how we got together.” A kiss to the back of his neck. Then his chin on Mickey’s shoulder, and a smile. “They know you make me very happy.”

“Jesus, you’re a sap,” Mickey said before his expression became worried again. “They know I’m a Milkovich?”

Ian sighed. “Is that really all you got from that?”

Mickey glared at him.

“Yes, fine,” Ian said. “They know you’re a Milkovich. It doesn’t matter though. They know you’re not a bad person or anything.”

Mickey let out a deep breath. He pressed more against Ian’s chest and leaned his temple against Ian’s cheek. Then he held up the shirts again. “Which one says, ‘I’m still a thug’ and which says, ‘I’m an upstanding citizen now’?”

“Neither of them say you’re still a thug, because you’re not,” Ian said. He pressed a kiss to Mickey’s temple, squeezed his waist, and let go of him. “But wear the Henley. You look sexy in it.”

Mickey flipped him off, but listened. He pulled it over his head. After a last inspection he got comfortable on their bed and distracted himself with watching Ian getting ready.

\- ɕ -

Mickey fidgeted in his seat as he looked up at the run down house they were parked in front of. The house was blue-ish grey and a young woman was standing on the porch. She was waiting for them, Mickey knew, and he took a deep breath. 

Ian squeezed his thigh and got out of the car. He walked over to the woman. She was descending from the porch now, arms as wide open as Ian’s. They met in a tight hug. She pushed the hair out of his face and pulled him down to kiss his forehead.

Finally, Mickey got out of the car and walked over to them. His hands were buried deep in his pockets. 

“Fiona, this is Mickey,” Ian said and put his arm around Mickey’s shoulders. “Mickey, this is my oldest sister Fiona.”

Mickey gave his best smile and shook Fiona’s offered hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Fiona grinned and motioned for them to come inside. “Nice to meet you, too. Finally. Ian’s been talking my ear off about you ever since you two met. It’s nice to finally experience the  _phenomenon_ that is Mickey Milkovich myself.”

Ian blushed. “That is  _not_ true and you are embarrassing.”

Mickey just grinned. He shrugged Ian’s arm off and took his hand instead. He held on tightly as they entered the house. The inside reminded him vaguely of his childhood home. It was a mess, but a different one. Where in his house it had been a mess of drugs and weapons and dirt, here it was a mess of color and homeliness and warmth. Mickey relaxed a little.

“It’s very true,” Fiona said with a laugh as she led them through the living room into the kitchen. 

Heat radiated from the oven through the kitchen and it smelled delicious. Mickey couldn’t quite identify it, but he made out potatoes and vegetables cooking on the stove.

“What are we having?” Ian asked as he leaned against the counter. Mickey was right next to him.

“Lemon rosemary chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and veggies,” Fiona said proudly.

Ian smiled and turned to Mickey to explain, “Fiona took up cooking lessons a while ago and now she tries all these different recipes. The others say she’s getting really good.” He looked over to Fiona with a smile. “Can’t wait to taste it myself.”

Fiona blushed and reached over to run her thumb over Ian’s cheek. “You are so sweet.”

“So I  _am_  your favorite brother?” Ian asked.

Fiona laughed. “Not happening.”

Ian shrugged and leaned over the stove to inspect the contents of the pots and pan on it. “Where are the others?”

“Debbie, Carl, and Liam are upstairs finishing up some stuff for school and Uni. Lip should be here soon. He called a few minutes ago saying he’s on his way.”

As if on cue, they heard footsteps thundering down the stairs and a moment later Ian was swarmed by his younger siblings.

“Ian!” Debbie yelled and engulfed Ian in a tight hug. Mickey remembered her and the others from all the pictures Ian had shown him over the years and the two times he passed them in their hallway.

“How are you, Debs? How’s Uni going?” Ian asked as he pulled Carl into his arms.

“It’s going amazing,” Debbie said and walked around the stove to stand next to Fiona. “I am almost top of my class. Just two more exams I have to ace and that Mere- _bitch_ is gonna have to give up her crown.”

Mickey couldn’t help but snort at that nickname and Ian smiled at him.

“Carl? How’s senior year going?” Ian asked and turned to his younger brother.

“It’s going,” Carl said as he slumped down on the bar stool next to Mickey. He was already inspecting his knuckles curiously.

“Liam,” Ian said. “How is school going?”

Liam smiled. “Amazing. The people are really nice and the teachers are awesome. We’re going to have an advanced science fair next month and then there is the reading contest next week. I have been studying a lot already, but I really want to win…”

And off he was. Liam rambled on and, despite the physical differences, it became clear quickly that he was definitely related to Ian. All the talking and the determination to be the best at what he was doing, Mickey smiled as he listened to him.

“Okay guys,” Fiona interrupted a few minutes later. She ran a hand through Liam’s hair and smiled. “You can tell them everything else during dinner, okay? Now I want you guys to set the table and then we can eat in a minute.”

The Gallagher kids immediately got to work and Mickey looked a little lost, unsure of what he should do. Debbie grabbed him by the arm and led him to one of the chairs.

“Just sit here. You’re our guest,” she said with a smile.

Mickey nodded and gave her his best smile. He shed his jacket and hung it over the back of the chair. 

Lip arrived just when everybody had settled down for dinner. Mickey remembered him vaguely from seeing him around school back in the day. He watched him as he shrugged out of his jacket and grabbed the chair between Liam and Debbie. Mickey sat right across from him.

“So,” he said as his eyes found Mickey’s. “Mickey Milkovich, huh?”

Mickey felt Ian’s hand on his thigh, squeezing lightly.

“Mickey,” Ian said. “This is my older brother Lip. Lip, this is my boyfriend, Mickey.”

Lip smiled, but Mickey couldn’t decipher whether it was honest or not. He took the offered hand anyway and shook it. After that, Lip didn’t take his eyes off of him. Not when everybody got their food, not when his siblings all took turns catching their older brothers up on their lives, and not when Fiona kicked him (not so) subtly under the table.  

When silence settled over the table for just a minute, Lip finally spoke. “So, Milkovich. I’ve heard a lot of stories about your clan.”

Mickey sat up a bit straighter and met Lip’s eyes. “I wouldn’t know. Haven’t been back here since I was fifteen.”

“There were enough stories back then, too,” Lip said.

“Lip,” Ian hissed, but Lip ignored him.

“Your family got up to a lot of shit.”

“What? And yours didn’t?” Mickey asked. 

Lip shrugged. “Whose doesn’t around here? It’s just different shit.”

Mickey furrowed his brows. “The hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“My family never dealt drugs or fag-bashed anyone.” 

Lip raised his eyebrows challengingly. 

Mickey sighed. “Look, I get that you’re cautious and all, but in case you haven’t noticed, I am gay myself. So don’t worry about the fag-bashing. Since you seem to know my family so well, you’ve probably heard about my dad. Defying him wasn’t really an option. I’m not proud of what I did as a teenager, but I was a fucking teenager. I moved out when I was fifteen and have lived a better life. All that’s left of the South Side is the name.”

Lip watched him for a moment longer. Then he smiled and concentrated back on his food. 

Ian squeezed Mickey’s thigh again and shot him a smile. Mickey brushed his thumb over Ian’s hand. It was Liam who filled the silence with his animated chatter again and Mickey was grateful for it. 

\- ɕ -

An hour later Mickey found himself on the back porch of the Gallagher house. He fiddled with his fingers. He was glad it was warm, because he needed just a minute to breathe. He only vaguely remembered what it was like to live in a house with so many people. And even then, his family had never been as loud and animated as the Gallaghers. It was nice and it made Ian happy, so he didn’t mind. But he did need a moment for himself. 

It didn’t take long until someone else sat down next to him. A cigarette appeared in front of him, a peace offering. Mickey shook his head. “Stopped ages ago.”

Lip smiled. “Probably should, too. My girlfriend hates it.”

Mickey didn’t answer, just watched as Lip lit up and took a long pull. He breathed the smoke out slowly and repeated the motion a few times. Then he looked at Mickey.

“I’m not sorry for what I said during dinner.”

“I know,” Mickey said. “Nothing to be sorry for.”

Lip nodded. “Ian’s my little brother. If you know him as well as I think you do, then you probably know about his ‘ex-boyfriends’. If you want to call them that, considering they were married with children older than Ian.”

Mickey just nodded. “You can relax, I am only a year older.”

Lip huffed out a laugh. “You know what I mean. It’s not just the age. Not all of Ian’s boyfriends were older, but they were all assholes. He falls too easily or maybe it’s more … infatuation.”

Mickey nodded again. Ian had told him all about his past relationships in the years they’d known each other. He had told Mickey these things in bits and pieces, never comfortable with sharing too much about himself. Over the years, though, a sufficient picture had come together in Mickey’s mind and he didn’t like what he was seeing. 

“He’s had some shitty relationships,” Lip interrupted his thoughts. “Really shitty, and I’m just looking out for him. I don’t care what you may have done for him, how good you may be, I’ll always be wary.”

“I get it,” Mickey said. “I have a little sister. I know the feeling.”

Lip huffed out a laugh. “Oh yeah. Mandy Milkovich.” 

His tone sounded reminiscing and Mickey didn’t like it. He raised a sharp eyebrow at Lip.

“You serious, dude?”

“She was a pretty girl. What’s she up to?” Lip said nonchalantly, but Mickey caught the teasing smile on his lips.

“Shut the fuck up, man. She’s living a good life.”

Lip laughed. “Okay, okay, don’t worry. I’m taken anyway.”

They were silent as Lip finished his cigarette. When he stepped it out and got up, he reached a hand out to Mickey. He took it and let Lip help him up.

“We cool?” Lip asked.

Mickey nodded and shook the hand still in his grasp. “We’re cool.”

\- ɕ -

Ian was playing idly with Mickey’s fingers as they sat in silence. There was a large field of sunflowers lit up by the orange light of the setting sun that flashed by the windows as they drove down the highway just outside of Chicago. Ian was sitting with his back to his window though, looking down at his hands entwined with one of Mickey’s.  

Mickey’s eyes kept flickering to Ian, his thumb stroking over Ian’s. Before he and Ian had gotten together, Mickey had never realized how fascinated by his hands Ian was. He didn’t mind it and had a lot more appreciation for his automatic car ever since. He squeezed Ian’s hand and said his name lowly.

Ian looked up with wide eyes and a small smile on his lips. “Yeah?”

Mickey didn’t know why a blush was creeping up his cheeks when he smiled back at Ian. He squeezed his hand again. “What’ya thinking about?”

Ian shrugged. “Nothing in particular.”

Mickey nodded slowly and decided not to push it. Ian was probably just dreaming again. Something he did regularly. He would just space out for a while, thinking about this and that and eventually ask Mickey the most random questions. 

Just a week prior he had come out of one of his ‘dreams’ and asked Mickey whether he thought Mandy would prefer a tiny T-Rex or a tiny Saurolophus as a pet. Mickey had furrowed his brows and shrugged. Ian had decided she would probably prefer a Saurolophus, because Ducky from  _The Land Before Time_  was cute and Mandy liked her. She had apparently said so once when they had watched it together. 

Mickey found these moments Ian had rather endearing. Sometimes he would stop mid-sentence during an idle conversation about nothing important and just space out for a minute. Mickey would just sit there when it happened, waiting for him to come out of it with a new question or a random epiphany. Mickey would watch him with a soft smile on his lips. Ian had many annoying habits Mickey had been getting used to since they first met, but that was one of the things he probably should find annoying, but he really didn’t. And he didn’t mind the random conversations they sometimes ended up having because of these moments. So he let Ian sit and get lost in his thoughts before he would inevitably let Mickey be a part of them. 

“Mickey,” Ian said lowly and looked up at him. 

Mickey glanced over and shot him a smile. “Yeah?”

“When we come back…” he started, but didn’t finish.

“Yeah?” Mickey said again.

“Do you want to move in with me?”

Ian’s eyes were wide as he looked up at Mickey and Mickey huffed out a laugh. He took his hand away from Ian’s and settled it on the back of Ian’s neck. He squeezed, his thumb brushing back and forth over the short hairs there. 

“I wanted to ask you the same question,” he said.

Ian grinned and slid his hand onto Mickey’s thigh. His fingers tapped rhythmically over Mickey’s jeans and Ian focused his eyes on them.

“So that a yes?” he asked.

Mickey hummed. “Yes.”

“Good,” Ian said and nodded to himself. Then he leaned back into his seat, looking out the windshield, his fingers still brushing up and down Mickey’s thigh. 

Mickey relaxed into his own seat, smiling absentmindedly, his eyes focused on the street. 

“We need a new bed then though,” Ian said after a while, his voice low as though he had spoken more to himself rather than Mickey.

“Why?” Mickey asked.

Ian shrugged. “Because ours are tiny.”

“They’re one-twenties.”

Ian huffed out a laugh and raised his eyebrows as he turned to look at Mickey. “Exactly. I want at least a one-sixty.”

“That won’t even fit in your room.”

“So we’ll put it in yours.”

Mickey was silent for a moment. Then he dropped his volume again. “You want to move into my apartment?”

Ian took Mickey’s hand from his neck and placed it between his own on his lap. “I don’t care. Yours, mine, a new apartment, as long as we have a one-eighty bed and both our names on the lease.”

Mickey grinned and squeezed Ian’s hand. “I thought you wanted a one-sixty.”

Ian pushed his shoulder. “ _At least_. But one-eighty is better.”

“We gonna build it together?” Mickey asked, his voice soft.

Ian grinned at him for a moment before he leaned over and pressed a lingering kiss to Mickey’s cheek. “Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The “one-twenty”, “one-sixty”, etc, refer to bed widths in centimeters.
> 
> And this is it:) I had a lot of fun writing it and I am rather happy with it, so I hope you all enjoyed it and of course especially Belle :) <3 I am very glad I decided to make this a multi-chapter instead of just a one-shot and now I shall get back to my main project, which kind of suffered while I needed to get this idea out of my brain :) Thank you all so so much for all the kudos and all the comments. There are really a lot of comments and it’s wonderful :) <3


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